Step 1/7Who This Is For
User Guide
How to Use AllergenMaps
A step-by-step walkthrough for pharmacists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals using AllergenMaps to review medication excipients for patients with allergies or sensitivities.
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Who This Is For
AllergenMaps is designed primarily for healthcare professionals (pharmacists, physicians, nurse practitioners, and clinical pharmacologists) who need to quickly identify potentially problematic excipients when prescribing or dispensing for patients with known allergies or sensitivities.
Self-directed patients and caregivers may also find it useful as a research tool, though all findings should be reviewed with a licensed healthcare provider before making medication decisions.
Pharmacists
Verify excipients before dispensing for patients with documented allergen sensitivities.
Prescribers
Compare manufacturer-specific formulations when switching or initiating therapy.
Care Teams
Research ingredient questions raised by patients and caregivers between visits.
What you'll learn in this guide:
- Setting up allergen filters that persist across searches
- Searching by brand name, generic name, or NDC code
- Interpreting the four safety badge types in search results
- Reading a full medication excipient profile
- Comparing multiple manufacturers side-by-side
AllergenMaps is for informational reference only and is not a substitute for professional clinical judgment. See the full disclaimer before use.
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Setting Your Allergen Profile
The allergen filter panel (visible in the left sidebar on the search page) is the core of AllergenMaps. Selecting filters before or after a search instantly re-sorts results, putting the safest options first and flagging anything that contains (or may contain) your patient's allergens.
Exclusion Groups
16 dietary and sensitivity groups: Gluten, Alpha-Gal Syndrome, Milk/Lactose, Egg, Soy, Peanut/Tree Nut, Sulfites, Dyes & Colorants, and more. Organized by allergy severity.
By Ingredient
Browse by individual excipient: Lactose/Dairy, Corn Starch, Gluten/Wheat, specific FD&C dyes (Blue No. 1, Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40), Gelatin, PEG, Povidone, Parabens, and 25+ more.
The interactive demo below mirrors the real filter panel. Use the tabs to switch between the two filtering methods. Click groups to activate them and see the live filter bar update.
Allergen Filter
interactive demoAllergy / High Severity
Filter Mode
Click a group above to activate a filter
Filter modes explained:
Standard mode
Flags only medications with confirmed excipient matches. Cross-contamination risks and source-dependent ingredients show as "Possible match" rather than "To avoid." Good default for most clinical use cases.
Strict mode
Treats all possible matches (including cross-contamination risk) as "to avoid." Use for patients with severe IgE-mediated allergies where trace exposure is unacceptable.
Your filter profile is encoded in the URL as query parameters (e.g.
?group=milk_lactose&group=gluten). Bookmark a filtered search URL to instantly apply a patient's allergen profile on future visits. No account required.3Step 3 of 7
Searching for a Medication
The search bar accepts three types of input. Each returns results in different ways:
Brand Name
e.g. "Prozac", "Lipitor", "Norvasc"
AllergenMaps automatically resolves brand names to their generic equivalents and shows all matching NDC listings, with an indicator showing what name was searched and what it resolved to.
Generic Name
e.g. "fluoxetine", "atorvastatin", "amlodipine"
Returns every manufacturer's version of the drug. If your patient has an allergy triggered by one manufacturer's excipients, generic-name search lets you compare across all available formulations.
NDC Code
e.g. "0777-3105", "0071-0156"
The most precise lookup. An NDC (National Drug Code) uniquely identifies a specific manufacturer's product and dosage form. Find the NDC on the medication label, outer packaging, or pharmacy receipt.
Search bar: what you'll see on every page
Search by brand name, generic name, or NDC code...
fluoxetineLipitor0777-3105
Example searches: try these on the live site
NDC codes are the most precise lookup method. A single active ingredient may have hundreds of NDC codes, one per manufacturer, dosage form, and package size. When a patient has an adverse reaction, look up the exact NDC from the dispensed product to confirm which excipients were present.
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Understanding Search Results
When allergen filters are active, each result card shows a safety badge indicating whether the medication contains, may contain, or is clear of your selected allergens. Results are automatically sorted: safest options appear first.
No matches found
No excipients from your allergen profile were detected in this formulation. It appears safe based on available data, but always verify against the current package insert.
Uncertain
Some inactive ingredients could not be fully verified against known allergen sources. Additional review is warranted before recommending this product to a sensitive patient.
Possible match
An ingredient with potential cross-contamination risk or source-dependent allergen content was identified. Applies in Lenient mode for ingredients like cross-contamination-risk excipients.
Contains Gluten
A confirmed match was found for one of your selected filters. With one match the badge names it directly (e.g. "Contains Gluten"); with multiple matches it shows the count (e.g. "Contains 3 Allergens").
The interactive demo below shows four results for a fluoxetine search with the Milk / Lactose filter active. Click any card to expand the inactive ingredient list:
fluoxetine
Filter:Milk / Lactose
1 safe for you1 need review1 possible match1 to avoid
Click each card to expand ingredients · Demo only. Use "Try it live" for real data.
Results are sorted by safety: safest first, ambiguous second, possible matches third, to-avoid last. A "No matches found" badge means no detected allergens based on available FDA data. Formulations change, and ingredient sourcing varies. Always confirm against the current manufacturer's package insert for critical allergy decisions.
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Reading a Medication Detail Page
Clicking any result card opens the full medication detail page. This shows the complete list of active and inactive ingredients as submitted to the FDA, along with allergen flags on individual excipients, manufacturer information, and NDC details.
Prozac (Fluoxetine Hydrochloride)
20 mg · Capsule · Eli Lilly and Company
NDC: 0777-3105
Filter active:Milk / Lactose
Active Ingredient
Fluoxetine Hydrochloride20 mg
Inactive Ingredients
FD&C Blue No. 1
FD&C Yellow No. 6
Gelatin
Iron oxide yellow
Lactose monohydrateMilk / Lactose
Starch, corn
Titanium dioxide
Contains Milk / Lactose: Lactose monohydrate is a dairy-derived excipient and a known trigger for lactose intolerance and milk protein reactions in sensitive patients.
Key sections on every detail page:
- Active ingredients with strength and unit
- Full inactive ingredient list with allergen flags on individual excipients
- Manufacturer name and labeler code
- "Find Alternatives" button: opens the compare view for this medication
- Direct link to the official FDA label on DailyMed
The ingredient list reflects FDA-submitted data at the time of labeling. Manufacturing changes and ingredient substitutions may not be reflected immediately. For patients with severe allergies, always verify against the current manufacturer's package insert or call the manufacturer directly.
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Comparing Manufacturers
The same active ingredient can have very different inactive ingredients depending on the manufacturer. AllergenMaps' compare tool lets you view medications side-by-side, ideal for finding a safer alternative formulation.
How to use compare:
- 1Search for the medication by generic name (e.g., "atorvastatin") with your allergen filters active
- 2Open the detail page for any result to see its full ingredient profile
- 3Click "Find Alternatives." The compare page opens, pre-loaded with manufacturer alternatives for that drug
- 4The compare page shows other manufacturers' versions ranked by your allergen profile, safe options first
Compare view: atorvastatin by two manufacturers
Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium)
Pfizer Inc.
NDC: 0071-0156
No matches foundInactive Ingredients
Calcium carbonate
Microcrystalline cellulose
Hypromellose
Polysorbate 80
Atorvastatin Calcium
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Inc.
NDC: 43598-099
Contains Milk / LactoseInactive Ingredients
Calcium carbonate
Lactose monohydrate
Hypromellose
Magnesium stearate
Takeaway: Same active ingredient, different inactive ingredient lists. Pfizer's Lipitor is clear of Milk/Lactose; Mylan's generic contains Lactose monohydrate.
When a patient has a known reaction to a specific manufacturer's product, use the compare view to identify an alternative formulation. Different generic manufacturers, and sometimes brand vs. generic, can differ significantly in their inactive ingredient profiles.
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You're Ready
You now know how to use AllergenMaps to look up medication excipients, configure allergen filters, and compare manufacturers. A few important reminders before you start:
Clinical Disclaimer
- AllergenMaps provides informational reference only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnose conditions, or recommend treatments.
- Healthcare providers must independently verify information and exercise professional clinical judgment.
- Data reflects FDA-submitted labels; formulations change and ingredient sourcing varies by lot.
- The service is not intended to function as an autonomous clinical decision support system.
- Individual patient responses may vary regardless of ingredient classifications shown.
Start Searching
Search hundreds of thousands of medications by brand, generic, or NDC.
Search medicationsSeen AllergenMaps make a difference?
If you've used this in a real clinical situation (a conflict caught, an alternative found, a reaction avoided), share a brief anonymized case. These reports directly shape how we develop the platform.
Questions or issues? Contact us at support@allergenmaps.org or use the contact form.