I am another 38 y.o. male allergic to poultry. Chicken, turkey, duck, dove, pheasant and quail are just some of the things that have caused me major problems. I can eat pretty much everything else, including eggs. The things I especially watch out for are restaurants that don't realize what they cook with (especially waitresses), Mexican food, Chinese food and fast food are the biggest problems. Places don't realize that when they deep fry a won ton or french fries they are using the same oil they cook their chicken in and it is contaminated. My reaction is less now that I'm older but for years I would have a full anaphylactic reaction and need to go to the hospital pretty quick. Nowadays i get increased heart rate, itchy mouth, naustia and hives. Ocaissionally I will get tricked into eating a lot of something I thought was safe and have to go to the E.R. but it is really rare. I have only met 2 other people with this problem in my life. I was surprised to see all the people here on this board. No one else in my family has this. I live in Ca near San Francisco.
For as far back as I can remember I've had issues with chicken AND fish. My first incident in eating fish resulted in anaphylaxis and a trip to the ER when I was about 4 or 5 so I pretty much steered clear of it since then.. Chicken on the other hand is a different story - my first incident started when I was in elementary school and I realized that there were parts of the chicken that I couldn't eat - legs and thighs actually - eating the meat would make my lips and tongue itch, sores would pop-up behind my lips and make my lips swell. I could tolerate breasts and wings but sometimes I was content to eat the skin if it was fried. When I was in my late twenties I started to get the same reaction with breast and wing meat only more severe - I started breaking out in hives about 2 to 3 hours after I would eat ANY part of the chicken - which makes me miserable because I love the taste. Not too long after I discovered that I couldn't eat turkey either. I am afraid to try any other foul because now I can't even eat anything containing poultry or chicken broth, because I am limited to what I can eat due to my severe fish allergy. To make matters worse , I suffer from serious asthma and environmental allergies. I'm 34 now and I suffer from headaches, frequent sinus infections, dizziness and digestive issues and I am afraid that there is something else that I am eating that may be cause these latter issues. I am afraid to eat out or try new new foods and every elimination diet suggests rice and poultry to start. ANY ADVICE?
I am allergic to all poultry and eggs but my reaction is different. Since i was very young like 3 or 4, I get a pain on my right side under my rib when i eat any chicken, turkey or eggs. I though it was my gall bladder, but i had that removed years ago. I still get this pain if i eat anything flavored with turkey or chicken broth. I wonder if it is my liver? No one i ever spoke to about this has ever heard of it, doctors want to give me antacids. They dont know what i am talking about. Any response?
It is good to know that I am not the only one who is allergic to poultry. I was able to eat chicken and turkey until my early 20's. I am now 57. If I eat any poultry (or poultry by product), I become extremely nauseated and sometimes I have to vomit. I was living in a farming community (Gilroy, CA) when my allergy to poultry developed. I think that there is a growth hormone or antibiotic that is being fed to the chicken and minute traces of the hormone or antibiotic end up in the chicken's fat. These trace elements do not bother most people, but some of us are more sensitive than others. That 's my theory. My physician told me that poultry allergies are rare. She also told me that there is no medical treatment for them. I always ask if the food contains poultry (or poultry by products) when I eat out. However, there is one bright note. The doctor told me that food allergies can disappear overnight.
Hi,
This is so weird. For about about 11 years now I thought that I was the only person in the world that had this problem with poultry.
It all started with chicken when I was around 14 years old and then got worse as the years have gone by. I am now 25 and today I can't eat any poultry... NOTHING with feathers.
I have exactly the same symptoms. It starts with the funny feeling in my mouth, then the thick saliva, then the pain in my chest which later becomes severe. If it becomes too unbearable I have to force myself to vommit... it's the only thing that helps.
Lately I cannot eat cooked fish. I can eat all types of shellfish, but not cooked fish. I can eat raw fish as much as I want, but the moment any fish touches the pan, I get sick.
Has anybody else experienced this and if you have... do you have any advice?
This is so weird. For about about 11 years now I thought that I was the only person in the world that had this problem with poultry.
It all started with chicken when I was around 14 years old and then got worse as the years have gone by. I am now 25 and today I can't eat any poultry... NOTHING with feathers.
I have exactly the same symptoms. It starts with the funny feeling in my mouth, then the thick saliva, then the pain in my chest which later becomes severe. If it becomes too unbearable I have to force myself to vommit... it's the only thing that helps.
Lately I cannot eat cooked fish. I can eat all types of shellfish, but not cooked fish. I can eat raw fish as much as I want, but the moment any fish touches the pan, I get sick.
Has anybody else experienced this and if you have... do you have any advice?
My boyfriend has had this allergy his whole life... he can fortunately eat eggs. Seems to be th wilder the bird, the worse the reaction. it is hard to find things that are free of poultry, but it is possible, so dont get so down. I am not allergic, but I would rahter eat pork, steak and fish over chicken anyday. BUT he is also allergic to Gator, AND Frog legs so I would suggest to the poster above me to test out that gator beofre you eat too much and have a bad reaction. his doc told him they have the same chemicals in the meat.
I am a 22 year old male and can not eat chicken turkery and some fish. I have had the exact same problems described in the first post and most other post. I can also eat eggs, but only on occasion. Somtimes bananas and some beans can set me off. Sometimes handling chicken meat or simply ingesting chicken broth can set it off. It's painful, but the best thing for me to do is to puke up what I ingested. I also have problems with a lot of protein shake mixes as well as soy, not every time, just on occasion. I believe it has something to do with whey protein. Also, as in the last post I have had problems with some steaks or "harder" foods going down, but not really an allergic reaction. It's just a tightening in my throat and I end up throwing it back up. I'm just discovering that I have some problems with whole milk and soy milk. I have found that rice milk is a good alternative. I thought I was broken, good to know that there are other people out there broken with me. Also, if trying to join any military branch do not inform them of this allergic reaction until after you're in the service.
Everyone of my friends get a good laugh out of it and go on about how they coulndnt live without it. This gets old but you dont know it you dont miss it always say.
On a funny note i was a manager at Chick-fil-a for awhile :/
Everyone of my friends get a good laugh out of it and go on about how they coulndnt live without it. This gets old but you dont know it you dont miss it always say.
On a funny note i was a manager at Chick-fil-a for awhile :/
WARNING! My husband (allergic to chicken) used to be able to eat Morning Farms Chik Nuggets.. but they recently changed their formula and he NOW GETS A VIOLENT REACTION! We did recently find that he has a much higher tolerance to organic chicken products which leads us to wonder whether there's a chicken flavoring additive he's allergic to.
Wow...it's nice to know I'm not alone! I'm a 25 years old male and have only met one person with this same allergy. Can't believe it's taken me this long to look online for more info!
Since the age of 5, whenever I ate chicken or turkey, I'd begin to notice tightness in my throat, difficulty swallowing, and the gummy saliva (like the other posts mentioned). If I ate a significant amount of poultry I'd find myself with painful dry heaves until all the food in my system was thrown up. If it was a minor amount (for instance eating the ham out of a multi-pack deli meat package that included turkey...where just the juices touched), I would normally have difficulty swallowing for a few hours and feel very sleepy. My parents took me to an allergist and had me tested...but everything came back negative. The doctor told us that many times allergy tests do not render results for young children and that I should just avoid eating any poultry until I could be tested at an older age. I listened to his advice and began reading ALL food labels. Even at family functions, I did not trust that my family read the label as closely as I would. As a result, I found myself rummaging through the trash reading hot dog, gravy, soup, bacon, sausage, frozen pizza, and other food labels. On more than one occasion there's been "chicken broth" or "chicken fat" in the food. (Glad I looked!)
At 16, I returned to the allergist for a second testing. This time, 10+ years later, I tested positive for allergies to chicken & turkey (as well as 12 other items including amoxicillin). Since 5, I've lived eating four-legged animals without feathers! I am looking forward to heaven though...perhaps then I'll be able to eat some buffalo wild wings, or a chicken nugget, or some KFC! :-)
Thank you all for sharing!
(You make me want to renew my Epipen prescription...it's just so expensive and awkward carrying it everywhere.)
:-) :-)
Since the age of 5, whenever I ate chicken or turkey, I'd begin to notice tightness in my throat, difficulty swallowing, and the gummy saliva (like the other posts mentioned). If I ate a significant amount of poultry I'd find myself with painful dry heaves until all the food in my system was thrown up. If it was a minor amount (for instance eating the ham out of a multi-pack deli meat package that included turkey...where just the juices touched), I would normally have difficulty swallowing for a few hours and feel very sleepy. My parents took me to an allergist and had me tested...but everything came back negative. The doctor told us that many times allergy tests do not render results for young children and that I should just avoid eating any poultry until I could be tested at an older age. I listened to his advice and began reading ALL food labels. Even at family functions, I did not trust that my family read the label as closely as I would. As a result, I found myself rummaging through the trash reading hot dog, gravy, soup, bacon, sausage, frozen pizza, and other food labels. On more than one occasion there's been "chicken broth" or "chicken fat" in the food. (Glad I looked!)
At 16, I returned to the allergist for a second testing. This time, 10+ years later, I tested positive for allergies to chicken & turkey (as well as 12 other items including amoxicillin). Since 5, I've lived eating four-legged animals without feathers! I am looking forward to heaven though...perhaps then I'll be able to eat some buffalo wild wings, or a chicken nugget, or some KFC! :-)
Thank you all for sharing!
(You make me want to renew my Epipen prescription...it's just so expensive and awkward carrying it everywhere.)
:-) :-)
Thank you for sharing...I am extremely allergic to all poultry. I have similar symptoms, the waves of pain, my face swells and eyes swell shut and I get hives on my body. I also start coughing and get a lot of mucus. I have to go to a hospital if I come in contact with it. It all started when I was 16 from one day to the next. I am now 39 and am so sensitive I can not have ANY traces of chicken. It really makes me afraid to eat in restaurants. I constantly read ingredients on any packaged food such as bacon and sausages or soups! Luckily I can still eat eggs. is nice to know that I am not the only one!
I also have an allergy to chicken, turkey and goose. I have not always been allerigic and love fried chicken, roast turkey and goose. At the age of 38 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I underwent chemo, and my digestive system was incredibly plagued by the effects of the chemo. I was also on several meds that affected my serotonin levels. About a year and half into this, I started having seizures and lots of them. The doctors decided that I had Serotonin Syndrome. Well, they got me off the meds that affected the serotonin and the seizures went away UNTIL I ate poultry. Within minutes I would have an itchy mouth, swollen lips and tounge, hives and SEIZURES! Now the thought is that the tryptophan in poultry affects your serotonin levels and that maybe the connection to allergy. I have 9 months of totally avoiding any poultry product. Then I was able to try and see the result, which was some good and some bad. I stay away from poultry, I can eat eggs when they are cooked in something, occassionally I will have a bite or two of scrambled eggs, and can also have things cooked with chicken stock, like alfredo sauce. BUT I can't eat things cooked with chicken like fries or onion rings. I keep liquid benydral handy as well as anti-seizure meds and look for all beef meats. So my advise for some is to look at the meds you maybe taking too, when looking at this allergy.
i'm a 47 year old male, and have probably been allergic to all poultry for about 20 or so years now. the allergic reaction that i get is an intense headache, that sometimes feels like my head is in a vice. it also affects my sinuses. also makes my skin feel itchy. it takes a good 24 hours for me to recover from this. to make this even worse, i am allergic to wheat. going out for dinner is a real pleasure for the waiter or waitress that takes my order! i ask alot of questions. and even when they tell me that nothing is in what i ordering, i have a reaction to something. i can eat eggs though.
does anyone else get the intense headache reaction like i do?
does anyone else get the intense headache reaction like i do?
I believe the issue is the pigment in the skin of birds. The pigment is created and travels down their feathers to give them their color.
I have no problems with eggs, but poultry gets me every time. Friggin turkey/chicken mixed hot dogs usually get me.
wow I thought I was alone. at the age of 12-13 I became sick after eating anything with fowl. I told my mother who thought it was all in my head. she said it was because i didnt want to go to grandma's for sunday dinner, which was always chicken or turkey. One day for dinner mom made spagetti with turkey meat. thinking that the spices and sause would cover the taste of the turkey hamburger. my lips swelled up, split, and started bleeding. the pain in my upper chest was so painful. i spent the next 3 days in bed. my muscles cramped up, it was hard to breathe and moving was too painful. 30 years later I am checking ever box label for ingrediences making sure no chichen or chicken broth is used. just last night i had some frozen salsbury steak for dinner and didnt even think to look at the ingrediences. after about 4 minutes my tounge was stinging, it became very hard to take a complete breath, and the pain in my chest felt like i was going to throw-up but it just never comes. just the pain of that feeling for 6 to 8 hours. it never goes away and comes in waves. the pain kept me up all night and i got very little sleep before work. if anything this has gotten worse the older I have become. at about 30 years old i began getting sick eating some types of lima beans.. then at 44 years old i now cant eat shrimp and i love shrimp. i can eat eggs with no problem. but even the smallest amount of chicken or turkey would put me in the hospital.
OMG! I just found this and thought I was all alone in being allergic to all fowl! I'm also allergic to pork too! It has been awful. I have some rare immune disorder and that is just the beginning of my allergies! There is also wheat, rice, olives (olive oil!), garlic, onions, pitted fruits, apples, melons, squash, cinnamon, banana's, raw tomatoes, raw potatoes, turmeric, paprika, and so, so much more! Eating out becomes a nightmare. I have found several restaurants that work well with me. They cook my food on foil on the grill (my steak, hamburger, or seafood), and usually get me steamed vegies and a baked potato with NO seasonings! I bring my own dressings with me. That has been such a big help. I did finally find spring roll wrappers made of tapioca flour! Waiting for those to arrive! I'm now canning all my own food and making my own sausages and sauces/condiments. I have had to drastically change my work schedule (went from working 3 jobs 70 hours a week to 1 job 32 hours a week!). It is saving my life for sure. The crazy thing too is that I work in Health Care! I'm a Nurse Practitioner and this has been a huge eye opener for myself and my colleagues as to the dangers of our processed foods.