Hospital admissions for allergic reactions and anaphylactic shocks in England has leapt by more than a third in the past five years.

Early data from NHS Digital, reported by the BBC, shows 29,544 hospital admissions in 2015/16 for allergic reactions, compared to 22,206 admissions back in 2011/12, marking a rise of 33 percent.

Experts believe increased levels of cleanliness are to blame for the increase.

"The fact that we're living in a much cleaner world than a hundred years ago is the main factor behind the rise in the number of admissions for allergies," Dr Donald Hodge from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust told the BBC.

"We've seen a huge increase in the number of referrals for children who have developed allergies, and this is undoubtedly because living in a cleaner world has lowered our ability to build up a resistance to substances like dust and pollen."

NHS Digital will reportedly publish admissions data for allergic reactions next month.