Anyone Allergic to Garlic?

[DawnCt1]

DS#1 has developed severe itching and burning of his hands and feet. He notices it usually after dinner and occasionally after lunch which certainly suggests a food allergy. Through the process of elimination, it seems like a garlic allergy. He has an appointment with an allergist in the middle of the month, and I suspect that it may be other spices as well. It doesn't seem to occur when he eats plain food. He went to a wedding this past weekend with several Italian entrees. I told him that he could tell the wait staff that he was allergic to garlic and they would make his food separate. They did and he had no problems. The tough part in all this, is, it seems that every convenience food, every good condiment A-1 sauce, barbecue sauce, salad dressing, has garlic. Anyone else with this allergy?

 

[Imzadi]

Vampires

 

[DawnCt1]

Vampires

I told him that this was indeed the consequence of staying out after midnight. Being a vampire was the first thing that occurred to me.

 

[ZachnElli]

DH's uncle said over the holidays that he was allergic to garlic and had to avoid the scalloped potatoes because they were in there. I didn't ask for details, didn't really want any, lol!

 

[Mermaid02]

Thank god NO! I might as well be allergic to water as garlic! I LOVE the stuff!

 

[DawnCt1]

Thank god NO! I might as well be allergic to water as garlic! I LOVE the stuff!

I agree. I can't think of a worse allergy. Can you food without garlic. Boring!!

 

[HERSEY]

I hope he isn't. It would be near impossible to avoid, it is in everything.

Is it after eating fresh garlic or processed garlic ie, garlic powder, salt, prepackaged chopped garlic?

 

[DawnCt1]

I hope he isn't. It would be near impossible to avoid, it is in everything.

Is it after eating fresh garlic or processed garlic ie, garlic powder, salt, prepackaged chopped garlic?

He had Campbell's clam chowder. The ingredients say "spices". He had mild itching last night, relieved with 25 mg of benedryl. It seems dose related. Those foods with obvious garlic content cause severe itching.

 

[mom2boys]

A friend of mine is allergic to garlic. She is also allergic to onions.

 

[Pakey]

The company I work for processes about 6 million pounds of garlic a season. I can verify that many people are allergic to garlic.

 

[jekajekalynn]

I used to have a friend at work who was strongly allergic to Garlic. I think she was also allergic to onions, BUT something to keep in mind is that she told me her allergy was mainly with anything with sulfur in it,including meds. I didn't know onions and garlic had sulfur in them.

 

[Christine]

I used to have a friend at work who was strongly allergic to Garlic. I think she was also allergic to onions, BUT something to keep in mind is that she told me her allergy was mainly with anything with sulfur in it,including meds. I didn't know onions and garlic had sulfur in them.

Not to mention she is allergic to sulpha/sulfa meds (not sulfur) although I guess you can be allergic to sulfur.

 

[ead79]

I'm not allergic to garlic, but it causes me severe IBS problems (it's my only major trigger food). I avoid Italian food at all costs when dining out, but you are right, it's hidden in lots of things. Fortunately, I can have very small amounts like in BBQ sauce since it's not an actual allergy.

 

[mckryan]

My mother is allergic to garlic, but it has to be a fairly decent amount. She can eat it in small amounts, like in processed foods, but if she gets too much, she has violent vomiting. So, she tries to avoid it at all costs.

 

[suzannen]

One question to ask is how soon after he eats something do the symptoms begin? What they call a "true food allergy" always happens within 3 hours, but usually before. If it's a "food intolerance" the symptoms occur after the 3 hour window. My allergist had me keep a food diary for several weeks before we realized I was reacting to MSG. It always happened 4-6 hours after eating and my hands itched terribly, I got rashes, bad headaches, heart palpatations and then my stomach became upset. It was hard to figure out because it's in SO many foods. Not only is it in soups (Campbell's), it's in processed foods, and a lot of caterers (Italian weddings) use it as well. Have him start keeping track of what he eats, his symptoms and the onset. It will help both him and the allergist figure out if it's the garlic or some other spice.

Best of luck - these things are so frustrating!