Allergies

Allergies are overreactions of the body's immune system to specific substances that it misidentifies as harmful. Some people have allergic reactions to several things; for example: flowers or animals. The reaction is commonly caused by contacting or eating the specific thing. The symptoms of allergies are different: it can be flushing of the skin, problems with breathing, sneezing, itchy eyes, etc. Every allergy has its own, unique symptoms. Some allergies are really dangerous and can even kill as well.

Allergic characters

Some characters are allergic to several things.

Image	Character name	Being allergic to
	Bart Simpson	Butterscotch Imitation butterscotch Glow-in-the-dark monster make-up Cauliflower Shrimp
	Lisa Simpson	Cypress Creek Plants Pollen
	Homer Simpson	Shrimp Carnauba Wax
	Maggie Simpson	Strained pears
	Marge Simpson	Shrimp
	Milhouse Van Houten	Honey Wheat Dairy (mentioned in "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em" and another episode, in which he stated in a flashback that his dairy allergy was potentially fatal) Non-dairy His own tears Holly Mistletoe The red part of candy canes Nectarines Pollen Tapioca
	Seymour Skinner	Peanuts
	Waylon Smithers, Jr.	Bee stings Lactose Shellfish
	Melvin Van Horne	Lactose
	Jimbo Jones	Bee stings Fish (The Big Bouncy Book of Bart Simpson)
	Eddie Muntz	Peanuts
	Clancy Wiggum	Poison oak
	Jay Sherman	Shrimp
	Nick	Chocolate
	Count Dracula and Edmund	Cholesterol Garlic Sunlight Holy water

Behind the Laughter

There are big discontinuities with some allergies. Several characters contacted or ate things they are mentioned to be allergic to:

• Bart was seen eating shrimp and once said that he had eaten them in the studio. It is possible that he didn't know about his allergy that time and ate something which looked like shrimp. Furthermore, he is listed as being allergic to butterscotch, yet Marge once rewarded him with his "favorite" - butterscotch chicken. However, it is possible he did not have an allergy to butterscotch at the time.
• Lisa only had her hay fever in Cypress Creek, so she is probably allergic only to plants in this place.
• Milhouse has cried and drunk real milk many times, so it is uncertain whether he is really allergic to them or not.
• Smithers has said that a bee sting could potentially kill him. However, in the episode "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk", he comes to beehives with no fear and even claims that some bees were stinging him.
• Dracula and Edmund only have their allergies because they are vampires. However, the real-life condition porphyria causes the skin to blister in the sunlight.
• Marge may or may not have a seafood allergy. However it is likely that Bart inherited his shrimp allergy from her.
• In "Treehouse of Horror XXIX", Milhouse states that he is allergic to himself. However, this episode is considered to be non-canon as the allergy.