Allergic reaction?

[AndreaU]

Sorry if this seems naive, but my whole life has (fortunately) been allergy and reaction free.

Last night I cooked dinner- chicken stuffed with goat cheese and roasted red peppers, green beans and rice- and had a partial glass of chardonnay with it. (Partial because it was not very good- a gift dh got from a sales rep at work.) Anyway, after we finished eating, I went to put away the leftovers at the stove and it felt unusually hot. I thought I left the oven or the burners on, but everything was off. Then I went to wash the pots and I was still really hot, but only my face, like a sunburn. I went to the bathroom to see if something was wrong and my whole face was red! No hives, bumps or splotches- just red all over. I put a cold washcloth on it and drank a lot of water afterwards. Eventually it went away. Other than the redness and the heat, I felt fine. No headache or throat closure.

The only thing I have never had before was the wine. I have had all the other foods many times without issue. Maybe I'm allergic to cheap wine? ;)

[Robyn1007]

It could be the wine but keep in mind that allergies can pop up at any time. Here's (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=64117&highlight=swollen) a thread about a reaction I had a few times that was a bit scary. It has some info that may be helpful. Good luck!

[funnybone]

I'm not an expert, but you can develop an allergy at any time. It could be the wine, it could be something else. If you have any wine left, you could always try some of it alone and see what happens. Other than that, I have no suggestions.

[GingerPow]

I cannot drink white wine because of the sulfites in it. I have reactions such as flushing, swelling and tingling. Sounds like fun, but it's not.;)

They must use a different type of sulfites in the white wine than the red, because I can drink red wine and I'm fine.

[AndreaU]

What's odd is that we drink a lot of wine- red and white- and I've never had anything like that happen. DH was fine, by the way. Maybe it was something else, but like I mentioned the wine was the only thing I've never had before. Hmmm.

I do understand allergies can come along at any time. I just wasn't sure what was happening as I've never had any kind of reaction. Was that some kind of allergic reaction? And why not wine in general? Could it be just that particular wine?

[leightx]

My guess is the wine as well. I can't drink certain reds, although I've never had a problem with whites. Actually, even with the reds, I still drink them. The reaction has never been bad enough to make me give them up entirely, and it only happens with the occasional bottle (maybe 1 out of 20?). Hopefully the same is true for you too! :)

[gertdog]

Andrea- I have had that type of reaction before and never did figure out what caused it. It happened to me about 4 times in the space of a few months- very red, hot face and sometimes chest too, came on fairly quickly and subsided within a few hours. Because it happened and was over so quickly, and only happened a few times, my doctor never did figure out what it was. However, I am allergic to sulfa medications and my reaction to sulfa starts with that same flush, so I've always wondered if the mystery reactions were related to the sulfa allergy.

As for wine- some wines, red or white, cause me to flush a lot, and others seem to have no effect- so it seems possible that it was the wine.

In any case, I took Benadryl when it happened and that made it subside faster- might be a good thing to keep on hand in case it happens to you again.

[Beth]

Isn't the sulphites in some wines, generally more in reds, that cause a lot of people to flush or to get headaches? My mom can't drink reds because of the headaches.

[sneezles]

Isn't the sulphites in some wines, generally more in reds, that cause a lot of people to flush or to get headaches?


I agree and usually the reaction is with reds but whites can cause the same reaction. I can always tell when a wine is high in sulfites because of the flush I get. It is very annoying though fortunately I don't get the headaches!

[BucknellAlum]

Is anyone else scared of the fact that you can develop allergies later in life?

My dad is now allergic to shellfish, and has had to go to the hospital when his lips swelled after he had a sauce that must have had shrimp or crab in it.

I am afraid that one day I will develop an allergy and I get paranoid thinking about a bad reaction. . .

I have heard of sulfite reactions to dried fruit too. I think wine and dried fruits are the prime sources of sulfites.

[colleency]

I wouldn't be scared that allergies can develop later in life. It's just something to deal with.

I developed shellfish allergies in my early 20's. That's also when I discovered sulfa and erythromyacin allergies.

I guess bee sting allergies are kind of scary, though. DH just found out he's allergic and has to carry a bee kit. I've never been stung, so that scares me a little.

[BucknellAlum]

I guess I know several people who have to carry epinephrine due to food allergies. I have heard of someone who died from inhaling the odor of crabcakes, so that plus my dad's swollen lips do make me scared for him, if he inadvertently eats shellfish.

I do have a friend who has severe food and nut allergies and cannot fly if there are peanuts on the plane, as he has to get to an ER in 20 minutes or so if he has an allergy reaction. He mostly brings his own food to parties, etc. as he cannot have any nut or soy product or ingredients.

I know these are rare examples, but they do help my paranoia grow!

[wallycat]

As to the wine reaction...I had that happen to me only once, where my neck got red. My cheeks naturally flush with any alcohol (rosacea), but never my neck. The ONLY thing I did differently that night was had Rooibos tea in the afternoon. I tried the same wine with the next night and no tea...no problems. I don't KNOW that that was my reason, but it was odd. I've been scared to drink the tea since.

Yes, people develop allergies at any time in there life, just as they can outgrow them (depending on the item).
I never had pollen allergies and now, Birch in spring kills me. From the pollen, i've developed oral allergy syndrome....fresh apples, cherries, almonds ..all make my throat itch. OAS only has a 2% chance of ever developing into severe (anaphylactic) reaction but I still try to keep away from those items, especially the almonds.
As a kid, I was allergic to strawberries and eggs, which I can eat now without problems.

There are several new treatments and new ones on the way.
The first is a shot (not the allergy shots we think of), but an injection to minimize the allergic reaction. They're working on this for peanuts and pollen.
Just recently, there have been articles in journals stating that the "eat a little of the offender" to build up immunity. Sort of like shots but taken orally. This must be supervised for obvious reasons.
One small child did this with peanuts and she is now able to eat up to 7 peanuts at a time without incident. Not a big deal for those without allergies, but now she can attend parties and play with kids who eat nuts.

One other odd thing happened to me. I've posted this before. I was eating guacamole one day and the edge of the tip of my tongue began to swell. I mean, I reaaaally freaked out. I've never had problems with onions, lemon juice or avocados. My doc mentioned it might be a subtle latex allergy.
I had all sorts of tests done (scratch and blood) and no allergy showed up.
I finally decided to do a supervised oral challenge and ate a whole avocado at the docs office. Nothing. Not even a tingle....
I don't go out of my way to eat it, but at least don't worry I'll drop dead if I accidentally have some. I do carry an epi pen just in case though.

[brickbat]

Strange; I can't drink red wine because of the headaches either. Half a glass and I'm flushed, headachy, and miserable. Sounds a bit like what happened to you.

I've also wondered if there's such thing as a whisky/bourbon allergy (no, I'm not kidding!). About a year ago I went to a Christmas party at a friend's house and drank a Manhattan, which I really didn't want, but I didn't want to be impolite when it was handed to me. Anyway, I choked it down, ate dinner, and got soooo sick that we had to leave; I couldn't even look at the road on the way home. The only feeling I could relate it to was the illness I had when my dentist prescribed me an anitobiotic that I found out (the hard way) that I was allergic to. No more dark wine/liquors for me.