An allergy is an exaggerated physical response to an ordinarily harmless substance such as pollen, certain foods or drugs, or to insect stings. In an allergic reaction, the immune system perceives pollen, food or other allergens as a threat to health.
Food allergies are most likely to be outgrown, and are more common in children than in adults.
If children do outgrow allergies, it is often by age 3. You may escape your current hay fever symptoms by moving to another area, but you could develop an allergy to a plant native to your new surroundings. Moving is not a practical solution to a pollen allergy. If one of your parents has a respiratory allergy, you have a 30 to 50 percent chance of developing one, though not necessarily the same allergy. If both your parents have respiratory allergies, there's a 60 to 80 percent likelihood that you will also develop an allergy.