Vinegar Allergy!

I have similar reactions to vinegar if I swallow it the wrong way. My throat closes and I can hardly get any air through it!! I can only get a tiny amount of air into my throat and it makes a very scary stridor sound as I breathe. The only thing to do when this happens is to drink large amounts of water to remove the effects of the vinegar from my throat. I have to be very careful when I'm eating a salad. If I speak while I'm eating salad it will happen, but if I eat my salad quietly and use less salad dressing, I'm okay.

You could have GERD or some kind of reflux - I am having trouble with vinegar in products from barbeque sauce, tomatoes to dill pickles and my breathing becomes shortened and wheezy and I itch on my arms and legs. I have read elsewhere that for acid problems/bronchitus that it was good to take the good bacteria like Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis . In Australia we have a powdered product called Inner Health which is sold from Chemists/pharmacies and kept in refridgerator. Everytime I eat I take half a teaspoon in water or milk. You can buy special yoghurt that carries the good bacteria in it too or you can buy capsules that are refridgerated. This acidophilus helps you digest foods quicker and also seems to help neutralise the acids. Of course any doctor will tell you to totally keep of acidic foods. Search net for acidic foods and then you will know what you shouldnt eat. Dont know if this will help but hope you find some kind of relief.

I have exactly the same reaction. So glad to know it's not just me and that it is infact the vinegar as I thought.

I have an allergy to vinegar. Salad dressing, ketchup, and barbecue sauce make me immediate break out into a sweat along my hairline at the top of my neck. My baby sister and I are the only ones in the family who experience this. As long as that is all that happens, I'm good for now.

Yes it sux!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How to fix???????????????

vinegar ruins my throaght stomach and mouth ... I wouldn't be surprised if people would have allergies to it

I get terrible ingestion and shortness of breath when I eat any vinegar related products - but everyone, including my Allergist, thinks I'm crazy. I have even broken out in hives after eating Italian salad dressing. How long after eating the vinegar product are any of you showing symptoms?   

Nice to find this thread!  I found it ironic that so many google hits list vinegar as a TREATMENT for hot flashes (in menopause).  I get flushed and sweating on my forehead and under my eyes with certain salad dressings (worst with french dressing), ketchup, ketchup chips, pickles etc.  But I love them so much!  I can handle the sweating, as long as it doesn't get any worse.  Anaphylactic = scary!!

i am also allergic to vinegar. if consumed i puff up like a fish and turn red, i also get rashes and my air passage gets blocked

I have a different reaction. Love vinegar but it apparently does not love me. Love salads too but have to make my own dressing using lemon. I am ok eating it and afterward for a bit but get nightmares when I try to sleep, wake up after about an hour and get all antsy and can't relax or rest for about 24 hours or until it passes. I drink 5 bottles of water every day so that helps but it is scary.

VINEGAR ALLERGY SYMPTOMS - DISTENDED STOMACH/RAPID HEART RATE  -  I am "allergic" to vinegars. All vinegars. I have put allergic in quotes, because Western medicine does not consider vinegar an allergen. I was diagnosed by a Chinese Medicine Practitioner. My symptoms however, might surprise you. No itching, swelling of skin or lips. Vinegar effects my pancreas (according to my Chinese Medicine Practitioner). When I have vinegar, my heart races and my stomach distends. I can literally watch it, if I wrongly ingest it. For YEARS, I would go out for dinner and when I thought I was eating healthily (salads, lighter foods) I would come home and have horrible stomach pain. I used to buy Grandma Size bottles of Tums. But they didn't help. Since I have discovered my allergy, I am absolutely pain free. Of course there is the occasional mishap, but I am very very careful and voila, I feel good.  

You are not crazy. I just posted below. Absolutely normal reaction to vinegar, if you are allergic. Believe it or not, I was out to dinner with my Chinese Medical Practitioner (he's a friend as well) and even he was surprised how clear my response was when I accidentally ingested some. Absolute textbook. Fortunately he did an quick acupuncture treatment and they symptoms went away immediately. I know it sounds weird. Maybe try a well-trained acupuncturist. But most surely, inquire at restaurants and check labels and avoid completely. It's a total pain in the %@*&. A dear friend/chef opened a great restaurant and when I asked what I could eat without vinegar, he said "nothing". That's how readily used it is in some kitchens. And for me Balsamic is the worst, so sad. Good luck. If you really need a fix, Bubby's Dill Pickles are brined with no vinegar.

I love balsamic vinegar but I can feel my face turned red and hot after eating it.

Hi all .How reassuring it was to find this page and realize others suffer with Vinegar Allergy as well . As a youngster I had no problems eating anything with a Vinegar Base but for the past few years , absolutely anything with a hint of Vinegar in it brings me out in an instant Sweat , usually My head and neck area , It literally pours from me . This does not only happen if I have had things with vinegar in them like Ketchup or Dressing , just the smell of an open Bottle of Vinegar or anything with it in starts the reaction.The reaction lasts for about 30 minutes before passing .

I have the same issue... when I get salt and vinegar crisps or tomato ketchup... ketchup has vinegar in it