Vinegar Allergy!

how do you combat sweating when eating ketsup or mustard. is there a treatment for this? i cant eat anything with this on it without being embaressed...hel

This happens to my husband as well, and we have no idea why. Anything with vinegar; mustard, ketchup, salad dressing, etc. This is a fairly recent development for my 57 year old hubby. Weird!

Is it possible to have apple cider vinegar without sulphites?

I am diabetic and also sweat when eating anything related to vinegar or spiced products. Wondering if there's any relation?

Me too!!! Its horrible :(

All i have to do is smell it and then comes the sweaty waterworks! !!

Intro - Add me to the list. I've had an allergy for years but never really thought too much into it until recently as it's started to get worse.  Similar to everyone else I have a reaction if I eat certain vinegar based products. Trigger - I think it's something more specific that just vinegar since i drink a lot of red wine most, if not all of which contain sulphites and more often than not i don't have a reaction. Here's the weird part, as a few other people have said, i get the reaction if i think about the taste of vinegar. I am sitting here now sweating. Reaction - My whole head feels incredibly agitated and breaks into a heavy sweat. When I say heavy, I mean heavy as in if I run through my fingers through my hair my hand is dripping wet. It's ridiculous however it's the only symptom I have unlike some of the other people on this thread. It lasts about an hour if I don't do something about it (keep reading). I think people who say they get nauseous or experience breathing difficulties are having a different type of reaction. Cure (for me) - Not a permanent solution but I have found chewing mint gum always immediately stops the reaction. I have tried mind tea which works as you drink it but as soon as you stop the reaction comes back Conclusion - Bear in mind I sit here writing this completely unqualified to make any sought of medical conclusion but if i had to have a guess i'd say this:  The trigger isn't a reaction that is taking place from within my stomach or when it enters my blood stream but instead something to do with my taste buds. It's almost like my taste buds trigger the reaction when they taste something specific, or remember the taste of something specific. It's incredibly the memory association with taste. I'm 34 years old but can still clearly remember the taste of a cigarette butt mixed with Guinness after mischievously trying to take a mouthful of my grandmothers drink when i was 7 years old not realising she was using it as an ashtray. It also explains why chewing mint flavoured gum stops the reactions. It’s as if the taste buds temporarily turn their attention to the mind and when that mint tastes has gone (like the cup of mint tea) it reverts back to the reaction. I have also found that if I have cuts or small pimples on my tongue I’m more susceptible to the reaction. Anyway, I’d love to know if mint gum helps other people and whether or not you agree with me.

Having the same issues for years with vinegar. I associated severe skin itching after eating picked food such as pickes. One of the worse is pickled jalapeño chilies used for nachos. Thanks for your post.

I break out in a rash if touching vinegar and tongue goes numb

I just started taking apple cider vinegar for the last three days as I have been hearing about all its wonderful health benefits.  After the second day of taking it, I have a mouthful of canker sores!  Does this happen to anyone else?  

Joshua, Welcome to the club where membership sucks and every dining experience can become a harrowing near - death episode. About 15 years ago I began having those exact symptoms after ingesting 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar as a home remedy for a kidney infection. Over the past 15 years my allergy has gotten worse; now even minimal exposure to vinegar is life threatening. Gone are the minor symptoms of itching and running nose; now my throat swells, I get hives, and my lungs wheeze with trace amounts of vinegar. I am now certain it is only a matter of time before I die a dramatic and terrifying episode of anaphylaxis in a restaurant or at a friend's home. In fact just tonight I had my 2nd episode in a month after contact with less than a gram of vinegar. Benadryl and my epi-pens are my constant companions. I am not trying to sound negative or scare you. If I had it to do over again I would have taken it seriously the moment I SUSPECTED I was allergic. I would have seen a specialist immediately. I would have stopped consuming vinegar (I too love pickles and dressing, etc.) immediately! You are not now, nor will you ever build a tolerance to vinegar by continuing to enjoy those little treats. Oh, I WISH I could, though. I mean, what's better than a burger with extra pickles or a hot dog dripping with relish and mustard? My best advice: Starting today, stop eating vinegar. It's in so many foods you will now need to be cognizant of food labels; prime culprits are sauces/dressing, condiments, salsa, and marinade. See your doctor immediately. He/she needs to refer you to an allergist. Start carrying Benadryl AND an epi-pen ASAP. Let those you dine with know about your allergy. Ask restaurants what is in your food. Tonight I learned that some flatware is shined with vinegar. My airway swelled as soon as the fork full of food hit my mouth. The other thing you can do is totally ignore everything I wrote and live your life. Seriously. I am not being sarcastic. In your post you stated that you suspected the allergy but have chosen to deny it; totally your choice and I support that choice. If you choose that route, please continue to share your story because I am genuinely curious to know how it will play out. Like you, I ignored the symptoms for years (denial or managed risk I thought) and the allergy was annoying, but not deadly. The past 12 months, though, something switched and now even the smallest amounts cause me to nearly dial 911. It's like the allergy progressed slowly until it progressed quickly. I am curious to know if it is the same with you as I haven't met others allergic to vinegar. In any event, please post again as I am genuinely curious to know how you are managing your allergy. Best wishes and stay safe.

I think i have the same issue but I'm not sure, I might just be a weirdo but basically I can pretty much drink vinegar and be fine but when I eat pickled food I'll end up with stomach cramps for a few days to a week. I can eat them foods perfectly fine when they have not been pickled. its just as soon as its pickled I can't touch it. Its annoying too because I really really love pickled onions. So I don't know whats going on, I've tried googling it a few times but it just keeps telling me its the vinegar or the veg but its neither. just pickle the thing and I cant have. Any ideas?

I get extremely hoarse after eating foods with vinegar and my nose runs. 

My throat closes up instantly and I can barely breathe with even the tiniest dab of certain vinegars.  I chug massive aounts of water and now carry an epipen.  Oddly, it's not all vinegars.  Fortunately my favorite salad dressing...thai peanut from trader joe's...doesn't affect me.  After last nite's episode I decided never again and decided to only use that dressing from now on. Weird allergy.

I also have this reaction to vinegar, especially Malt Vinegar. I begin vomiting within 15 mins of accidental ingestion and that is followed by a migraine-type headache for which resting in a darkened room is the best remedy. The last time this happened was when my brother-in-law marinaded the barbecue meat in a vinegar mix. I also can't bear the smell of vinegar. Strangely (?) my Mum loved vinegar and could be caught taking swigs from a bottle. Her idea of salad was to have the lettuce,radishes, cucumber, etc floating in a lake of vinegar, which she would happily mop up with bread! The only aroma she despised was coffee.