Chocolate: can't breathe for aroud 5 seconds

Question

Hi,

I'm 18, and I have been having a weird reaction to chocolate since I was aroud 9-10 years old.
The type of chocolate doesn't matter (white, black, milk) nor does its form.
This doesn't occure everytime I eat chocolate, and may be at my first bite or after quite a few bites.
What happens is that at some point when I put the chocolate in my mouth I will suddenly have a sensation of burning in my throat, so bad that I can't breathe at anymore. My reaction is to swallow saliva repeatedly, and after around 5 seconds it stops and I can breathe fine and eat more chocolate. 
I'm not sure about this, but allong with the burning sensation, I think my throat tightens up a little.

I haven't seen anything of this sort on the internet, and my doctor didn't really know what it could be. She said it seemed like a chocolate allergy.
But the thing is that the other day I ate some turkish kind of sweets, in which there was no chocolate, and it happened again. But this time it was a lot worse. I was alone in my room and it really scared me this time. It didn't last too long, and stopped as soon as I spat the sweet out. It also made me feel like I was going to throw up.

Do you have any idea of what this could be? 

I thought it might be due to a reaction of the acid and sugar in my throat or something as I have had gastritis since I was 14.



Thanks for your help and have a nice day.

Kath385 · Answer

The same thing sometimes happens to me in the first few bites of candy or chocolate and I can’t breathe for 5-10 seconds - it happened when I started eating Swedish berries just now which led me to google. Couldn’t find an answer. Weird that no one seems to know what it is. I can’t remember how long this has been happening to me for but it’s not recent, maybe my whole life.  Last time this happened was about a month ago. I have no food allergies other than sweet potatoes and I am lactose intolerant. I also have mild asthma. Aren’t reactions to foods you are allergic to supposed to get worse with each exposure? That’s what my doctor said about my sweet potato allergy. The 5-10 seconds of not being able to breathe has been fairly consistent for as far as I can remember so I never thought about this being an allergy.

SonyB64 · Answer

I’m having the same issue when eating sweets mainly chocolate and other sweets also while in the process of eating it I like lock up and can’t breathe for a few seconds and then able to breathe again. This has been going on around 6 months or so, it can be very scary.

An_Onny · Answer

This has happened to me on and off for years. I finally got curious and decided to google it and this is the only place which sounded like it was the same thing.  It doesn't happen every time I eat candy.  Just occasionally when it's really sweet candy.  Like milk chocolate....not dark chocolate. Like "Nerds" but not gummy bears.  So I've learned to eat a TINY amount at a time, and sip sparkling water in between bites and that helps prevent it.   I just figure it's my throat going into some kind of sugar shock!

mbisne · Answer

Something very similar happens to be. I had a very scary episode today so I’m googling it. There’s so little information. For me, it’s usually chocolate or something very sweet and sour. Today it was a margarita of all things. Immediately I felt my throat close up and I had trouble breathing for at least two minutes. I thought I might pass out but I was able to calm down and get my breath back. I think I’ll just avoid sour sweets and eat chocolate very slowly. ?

Jeanettebadeo18 · Answer

Think I found the answer. Possibly sugar triggers it on occasion?
Laryngospasm is a sudden, sustained contracting of muscles of the larynx that causes closing of the upper airway. The process involves closing of the vocal cords and the epiglottis.

Jeanettebadeo18 · Answer

I’ve had the same thing many times. It wheats happens after eating something very sugary. My throat feels like it closes and I’m unable to breath unless I inhale through my nose. Swallowing or drinking water helps.  Lasts about 5-10 seconds then all is normal again. Sometimes it makes me cough. It only happens on occasion. Other times I’m able eat sugary foods with no reaction. Very weird

bumblelu · Answer

I have had exactly this reaction lots of times too! It tends to happen when I have something really sugary like chocolate or sweets, but other times I can eat them with no problem at all. It’s really scary trying to gasp for breath and not being able to! I’m sure it’s not an allergy as it only lasts a few seconds, it happens with lots of different sweet foods, and sometimes I have no reaction at all. Very strange! The only thing I’ve found that helps is slowing down when eating sweet things

atb2125 · Answer

I also do not know the answer, but it started happening to me. The only time it happens is when I am eating something sweet or sweetly rich, but it does not happen every time I eat food like that. Just now, my throat briefly closed up when I had some Asian pear -- a fruit that I eat almost every day, and which has never before caused this. It happens with non-Hershey's chocolates -- yesterday, I picked up a half-eaten Butterfinger bar, and it happened with the first bite (even though I had been eating in a few hours earlier). It happened a few weeks ago when I ate some vanilla frosting.  It always goes away when I take a sip of water.  I feel like everyone thinks it's a chocolate allergy, but it is clearly not! And it is not anaphylactic shock because it goes away immediately with water. 

I am wondering if it has something to do with saliva production -- I have seen this suggested in a few different areas. Perhaps the strong sweet flavor is causing a reaction in our salivation production?

chocolatespasm · Answer

I don't have an answer but this exactly describes my own experience (happened just now with chocolate, hence the Google search leading to this question). It only happens once in a while and it has happened with honey as well. Just now I ate a small piece of chocolate but the spasms didn't happen until the last bite. Then my throat tightened up and started convulsing and I couldn't breathe for several seconds. It really is intense and pretty scary.

masterblogger · Answer

so maybe there is one ingredient which is the reason for your allergic reaction or it is sth else. Maybe it is a histamine intolerance because chocolate got histamine and the symptoms would be like yours. I would recommend a blood test by your allergist, he should check all the intolerances! (celiac, histamine etc.) If you get a diagnosis for having a histamine intolerance, I can really recommend "Daosin". I'm sensitive to histamine and I'm using it for a long time now.


take care and all the best for you!

craftygal777 · Answer

i had pulse go uo to 177 called 911 after eating hersheys choc kisses. cardiologist said am 
 having alkergic reaction to chemical in choc
.he said rare.....benedryl helps after 30 min am fine. i take 30 cc of liquid childrens benedryl. thats all ER gives me if i  go to er.I am a nurse. very frustrating. am not tolerating meds and food ms now after allergy shots. off shots now

Jda09 · Answer

White chocolate isn't chocolate. But I just looked one up and it had milk and soy. Look for ingredients in bold. They are the top 8 allergens. There are chocolates without the top 8. You can get lab testing for food allergies and keep a food journal. Keep your food packaging. You'll find patterns and the lab tests will help you. You should really have an epi pen. I find that having applesauce helps "wash down" a food intolerance. As you said you feel like you need to swallow a lot. A daily antihistamine is also really important but nothing replaces an epi pen.

SarahKarah · Answer

I feel a bit better after reading this.. I have had the EXACT same experiences! Everything you described is spot on. So frustrating that no one knows what it is lol. It just happened to me (again), hence the google search. For a second there i thought “what if my throat doesnt open up again”. Can be really scary...

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