Garlic/onion allergy??

[deelicious88]

Okay, this confused the heck out of me.... I know that sometimes I get a reaction from eating too much garlic/onion, but I haven't experience it for a long time now, and I love garlic bread. I don't eat too much onion or garlic though, I kept it low on the intake, since I don't actually like it that much, but I love the smell of it in my cooking. And I haven't been to a doctor about this. Two nights ago my partner brought home some fried rice, which I know it has garlic in it, just that I don't know how much. After that, I started having sore throat and a splitting headache. It lasted until today (I had to call in sick yesterday). I had a mild headache yesterday but a very sore throat and still a little bit of it today, but the headache comes and go at least.

Anyone else have any reaction to garlic/onion? My everyday food contains onion and/or garlic, I wonder if it's an unusual amount that set off the reaction? It's just that I have never met or heard anyone has these symptoms, especially where I'm from, the food always contains lots and lots of onion and garlic (although I'm never a big fan of it, and I don't live there anymore).

[rawliving]

Hi, I never used to suffer from allergies until about 2 years ago (now 37). After doing a lot of research I discovered that I had candida.  Apparently allergies can only exist if you have candida.  Over the years you can get a candida overgrowth if you eat too many sugary foods or yeast products - even antibiotics (I did all 3)  So over the years you can develop intolerances and allergies to foods and the environment.  I got info from this site:

http://www.101-natural-health-remedies.com/natural-remedies-for-candida.html

Hope this helps.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Your symptoms of dry tight throat, uneasiness and difficulty in breathing and headaches are pointing towards the diagnosis of allergy to onion/ garlic, in any form.

Garlic-sensitive patients showed positive tests to diallyldisulfide, allylpropyldisulfide, allylmercaptan and allicin, all present in garlic. Even if garlic is present in a very small amount,it can lead to an allergic reaction.Similarly,if you are allergic to onions,then you can be allergic to all plants under the family liliaceae(lilies).Garlic is also a part of this family.

First of all,pls get yourself diagnosed for the particular allergens to which you are allergic.For this you can get tests like skin ***** tests and blood tests like RAST done.

Then treatment consists of avoidance of the allergen(onion/garlic)in any minute quantities.If any allergic reaction to onion/garlic occurs then pls take any antihistaminic like benadryl.If severe symptoms occur,then pls consult a dermatologist as you may need steroids.Don’t forget that life threatening anaphylaxis can be induced by even a minute amount of allergen.

Hope it helped.

Take care and regards

[crystalfresh]

You should read my allergy posted question.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/596522

However your illness to the food you ate could also have been something else in the food. And if the food was Chinese Fried Rice, then there definitely had some other things in it too.

[crystalfresh]

BTW I am allergic to both garlic and onion.

[dawnysw]

I am allergic to the sulphur in garlic.  It is also present in onions and ginger.  The reaction I get is that of a headache, intestinal distress (cramping, diarhea, gas...for hours) and even vomiting.  I am equally unable to drink milk 1-3% as it has a preservative, but 10% cream is ok in my coffee and such as it does not have the same preservative (same goes for yogurt and cheese, they are fine so it is not lactose intolerance).  Baby carrots (in a bag) and other such bagged veggies are soaked in preservatives, so I have to avoid those.  Onions and garlic (and ginger) are all part of the same bulbous root family, and all have a sulphur-like compound.  Vigilance and good old fashioned home cooking are the only answer I have found.  Good luck...

[flowerfishy]

Hi...I also have the problem. I didn't think anyone else had this. I went to the allergist today and he thinks that garlic and onions contrict my blood vessels and cause a migrane. I also have another crazy symptom...if I eat too much garlic, I will vomit about three hours later. I also have the same reaction to milk as dawnysw.

[ChristianDanielle]

I am very much allergic to onions in any way, shape or form.  I know that raw onion (even just walking in a room with one) will cause anaphylaxis.  I just got out of a 4 day hospital stay because someone ate an onion ring around me.  3 doses of Epi and lots of histamine blockers and steroids and I finally got to come home.  So, yep, it's very odd, but it can happen.  Anyone can be allergic to any kinds of foods.  I also learned something new this week, if you do have any history of anaphylactic reactions, do not take beta blockers.  They inhibit the body's response to Epi, so there's not much you can do to stop the reaction.

[Hathani]

I do not have a problem with either of these but my husband does.  He will get heartburn very badly from either or both at times.  Trouble is we never know when it will happen which is a problem.
Maybe you should stop using both for a while and then gradually add it back.  I know that can work sometimes as my gf tried it with her allergies (any seafood) and she is not able to eat it again.
Hope that you will find out what caused the problem so that you can avoid it in future.

[FurballsMom]

I started having some food issues a few years ago.  Then, just this past year I started having more food sensitivities and allergies than ever before.  I have problems with garlic, onions, and ginger myself--among others.  The list is a mile long.  I discovered that the problem is Oral Allergy Syndrome related to cross reactions to birch, ragweed and mugwort.  

[JuliaUK]

I was diagnosed about three years ago with a severe allergy to all the allium family. I experience anaphylaxis which is inhalation sensitive and produces primarily neurological and respiratory symptoms. I carry epipens, antihistamine and steroids.
This is a very anti social and debilitating allergy and not very managable due to the pervasive nature of onion and garlic in our food and cooking processes. I have just had three reactions in less than 6 weeks. The one last night has left me feeling very ill even though I was discharged from the emergency dept after treatment.
People are suprised at the allergy and many medics have not heard of the problem. This means that the feeling of not being taken seriously is isolating - nut allergy is well known by the general public.
It is helpful to read the blogs and know that I am not alone. There really is not much written about the condition. I am fortunate in that my immunology consultant is so supportive and has helped me come to terms with the allergy. I now go everywhere with an allergy kit which includes at leats 4 epipens and medication which could well be life saving.
My daughter seems to be developing the allergy and reacts to onion with migraine headaches and hives. This makes me realise that my own allergy syptoms have been devloping over many years and that my sinusitis and reactive headaches have a cause in the dreaded allium.
Julia UK

[scarlatt]

I am allergic to onion and garlic too. I didn't know about it, actually i didnt realized before. I statted even sth like garlic diet, because i wanted to kill a lot of bacteria and stay healthy. And then it started. I felt so dizzy, so sick and had big headache. And my dad couldnt believe that, because he ate a lot of garlic and forced our family to do the same.
But as he stayed healthy and felt great, I've noticed that something is wrong.
After that i started to keep an eye on my body, how do i feel and my reaction to diet.
I couldnt believe that tehere is sth like allergy to garlic and onion, but after many many cases when i felt so bad after eating onion and garlic, when i had headaches, i felt weak and sick.. i know i can it it
The only thing i can eat is cooked garlic or onion, it is everything fine then.

[happytester]

There is a Yahoo Group with an active mailing list that discusses onion allergies. http://**********************/group/onionfree/

[jas250]

In 1999 I became alergic to onions, especially raw onions.  If i eat them it makes me vomit.  I'm not sure how I aquired this alergy but its difficult to deal with because the food industry puts onions in everything.  Is there a cure or way to get rid of this alergy?  I thought I was the only one in the world to have this problem.  

[mamaped]

I have onion/garlic intolerance.  I get gas and violent diarrhea when I eat any onion or a lot of garlic.  My understanding is that I cannot digest one of the substances in onions, probably one of the complicated sugars.  This is completely different from an allergy--with an allergy, your body reacts with hives, trouble breathing, etc., and anaphylactic shock is a possibility.  It's important to figure out which problem you have!!!!  I'm not going to die from onions, but I'm going to be very, very uncomfortable!!!!

Chinese food---the problem is more likely MSG than onion, with the symptoms you are describing.  I have a reaction to MSG also, with strange zinging feelings along my facial nerve, followed by headaches and discomfort.  I make sure to eat only at places that do not use MSG.  It is a flavor enhancer, and is used a lot in chicken dishes, since chicken doesn't have much flavor.

I also have lactose intolerance, with the same symptoms.  However, I can have yogurt, kefir, cheese, and ice cream, since the problem is not the milk protein but the milk sugar, and there isn't much lactose in these products.  The acidophilus/lactobacillus that changes milk into yogurt does it by digesting the sugar!  That's why it's sour.

[FurballsMom]

It's been a while since I've felt well enough to read or post anything on any forum.  I, too, have food sensitivity/allergy to garlic/onions.  People with these sensitivities and/or allergies are likely to be sensitive or allergic to ginger, too, because these are all in the same lilly family.  Don't be too surprised if you find that you have problems with other foods with known sulfites in them, especially after reading the answer that Kindd posted.

These foods include foods cooked with wine and other spirits.  It's too bad, because such things really do enhance the flavors of foods.  I learned the hard way, after someone introduced cooking with wine to me.  It tasted great, but I felt horrible, like I got hit with a case of flu or something.  I then learned that it isn't just alcohol that I'm sensitive to, but I'm clearly sensitive to the sulfites in the wine.  It was such a bad reaction that I have never had any desire to even taste food cooked with any spirits ever again.  I thought this was worth mentioning, since garlic, onions and ginger are natural sulfer foods.  Grapes are, too, so I don't eat grapes anymore either.

Besides feeling like I've been hit with a case of the flu after eating sulfer foods, I've had heart palpitations from these foods and terrible gastric distress.  These foods will even trigger migraines for me, so they're not worth eating to me, no matter how much I miss the pleasant taste from these foods.  I miss being able to eat garlic and ginger.  

There has been one good thing that came out of noticing sulfite sensitivities/allergies.  People who know me don't tease me so much about hating onions and no longer try to sneak them into the foods I eat if I'm with them, because they know I've had some strange food reactions to such foods.

[shiva_djsh]

hiii...I have same problem,onion makes me vomit.do you no any cure way? please help...:( my e-mail address is sh.jafari.***@****

[Simikee]

I am allergic to both garlic and onions and have found that the safest thing for me is to eat at home.  I was in military training and my evil roommate thought I was lying and had extra garlic and onions minced and added to the pizza.  Needless to say I became great friends with the Drs and nurses.  Spent couple days in hospital with them trying to find out what was the culprit before she told what she did.  To this day I won't eat pizza....lol.  Really annoying allergy to have and just found out my 15 month old is allergic too.  My bf was Italian and not happy with the whole no garlic rule.  I know alot of ppl say to slowly add it to your food and let your body adjust, been there done that and got the medical bills to show for it.  So now I just eat at home or something that definitely doesn't have it.  In fact these allergies are the reason I became a chef, now I know what's in just about any food.

[lakays]

I'm sitting here after leaving work with dizziness and gastrointestinal problems. Could this really be a onion/garlic allergy? Last week my boyfriend and I started cooking more with garlic and yesterday I ate a small piece of raw onion in a salad. Today I feel horrible. The symptoms started last week with funny sensations in my head. As strange as that sounds, they are real. A bit of pressure and discomfort then full blown dizziness last night and today. There is also upper GI discomfort with belching and discomfort. Could this be related to garlic/onion?

[rballa]

I too suffer from the onion allergy. It's definately annoying but I have grown up with my mother having the onion allergy so I know how to deal with it. It didn't start affecting me until about a year ago and I was so angry because one of my favorite foods is Chips & Salsa. So my proposition to all of you onion allergy folks is to post any alternative recipes to things that have onion in them. I would especially love to see an onion free salsa recipe (as impossible as that sounds). I can't wait to see what you all post!

[meyan]

Hello, I really appreciate reading all of everyone's comments.  I'm 52 and the intolerance's started to become more apparent when I was 39 with milk becoming the first known culprit. I had already been experiencing on and off diarrhea for almost 10 yrs by then. Then a couple of years ago I started getting reactions to what seemed to be garlic and maybe onion and a bit to ginger. I couldn't understand what was going on. Not everytime but many times I experience one or all of these symptoms: my abdomen feels like it's going to explode and gets huge and hard. It rumbles, gurgles, hurts, is very uncomfortable.  I often get diarrhea with or without a lower intense intestinal pain, waves of nausea, horrible panic attack, mild to severe headache, facial pain, runny stuffed nose, Just this year I was diagnosed with IBS and gallstones but I think this intolerance is still separate.  

[31415926536]

Anything in the onion family affects me. Garlic, onions, chives, shallots, ginger. I even have a reaction to bananas, which I love, but they hate me.
I was in a restaurant once where they used spring onions as a garnish, just the smell of them made me break out in a cold sweat, get light headed, and have difficulty breathing.

I now work at a location that provides all the meals, which depending on the who the head chef is can be problematic. Sometimes they are very understanding, other times just plain obstinate because there are "No FDA guidelines" that say they need to do anything about it.
We have averaged about 2.5% of the people here having onion allergies over the past few years. Statistically 2.8% of the US are vegetarians.
A vegetarian dish is always provided every meal for the people who CHOOSE to be vegetarians, yet I have gone for periods as long as 10 days without a single dish I could eat off the hot food line because they are not willing to budge from their set menu for onion allergy sufferers.
I have found myself getting very protein deprived, basically living off the desert foods. Because of our location I do not have any choices of other places to eat.

[fountainhead43]

I had the RAST test after convincing my Doctor that the practice of modern medicine is cause and effect and age wasn't a cause. I was experiencing migraines that were dismissed as age or stress related. The RAST identified Onions, Cucumbers and Watermelon. I eliminated these items from my diet and no more migraines, of course I don't eat out often because of this. I am not allergic or react to garlic. I am not allergic or react to red wine. Curious to the possible chemical commonality in these food items or why onions and not garlic? That test was 10 years ago and recently had another that almost mirrored the initial test. No amount of onions, powder or otherwise can be consumed without a reaction.

[ropeangel]

Hello,
For over 20 years now I have been dealing with allergies to garlic/onion. If its in the air, I start to feel the reaction. If its hidden in food I feel it before I smell it oddly enough, unless it is cooked food. My reaction to garlic is worse then onion and after having a reaction I can't even have leeks, which I keep in low doses. The pain starts off as if a mini porcupine is crawling about my noise then lungs. Eventually and depending on how bad the exposure, a burning starts in my lungs then flesh, out to my fingers, then down my legs. My breathing becomes very hard, as if breathing fire only I'm not really breathing. Then head pain unlike a usual headache. As time goes on it takes me longer to recover even from small exposure. So, I wrote a letter to my whole family, who never seems to remember what I have been telling them for over 20 years, that for now on I will either leave as soon as its in the air or I will just not show up to family events. I'm tired of the pain & maybe they are trying to tell me something. LOL Good news for us is, there is still a lot of other food out in the world to eat. We just need to go out and find it.

[deblen]

I have had a gastric bypass 17 yrs ago and since then my trouble with garlic in any form and raw or partly cooked onions have increased in intensity. Thankfully I can consume well cooked onion but since age 25 and am now almost 49 I have had problems with raw onion and garlic, chives are recently added to my list. I am so annoyed with the pree packaged food companies even crisps have powdered onion or garlic and some times both. I have also had bowel cancer and had right hemmicolectomy, in other words half my guts removed and you can emagine when I get wind it is absolut agony for hours relief comes from the eventual bowel elimination but guts still hurt. Yesterday at lunch I ate a meal that I cooked thinking it would be ok!!! I used borlotti (red beans) I was in agony for hours the people who can them now cant be tusted by me I must do the whole process myself to be absolutely sure its soaked properly I too feel like I've been through the mill and run a marathon and the worst of it is family who you see occasionally and have dinner together AND told cant have these items at all say its only got a little bit of garlic in it to which I reply OH it's only got a little bit of poison in it, they look at me like i just said filthy words but why can't they flip it and see how it feels. I guess I'm lucky I can eat ginger and cooked onion but I can see the signs that my four children are also having problems with the same foods. Just remember some foods are medicinal as long as it helps YOU but there are some medicines that can only be harmful to folk like us including foods just think of penicillin, not all can take this wonder drug even though it does so much good for others, so remember to tell your friends about the penicillin then they finally get a little light turn on, we must abstain for the little bit hurts a lot. I tried a medicine called immodium... for runny tummy butit stops the perastalsic contraction and the pain along with antihistamine eased my suffering.I am finally glad to find others that have the same problems not that I want others to suffer but that I havefelt so isolated, even Docs don't know about it or even offer help in any form, so glad to have read all your stories of woe, I now know I'm not alone with this problem. Deb