Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So... I already know I can't really eat walnuts. They make my mouth sting and my gums get sore. I assume that that is not a good thing, so I don't eat them now.

But I think I'm having some sort of reaction to other foods as well.

I made a cashew ranch dressing a couple months ago (and it was actually really tasty, ftr). About half an hour after I ate several large spoonfuls on a salad, the roof of my mouth hurt really bad and my face was itchy. It stayed like that for 4 or 5 days. I ate the dressing again at that point- not realizing that might've been the problem- and the same thing happened for another 3 days.

I noticed, too, that when I eat almonds, I get itchy everywhere. My scalp, my face, my stomach, arms, everything. But I ate an entire chocolate bar with roasted almonds and didn't get itchy. Not sure why.

If this means anything, I haven't used chapstick in years and don't put a lot of things on my face because- you guessed it- I get itchy. With continued use, the area around my mouth turns dark, red, and flaky.

I looked up allergies but the reactions I read about seem a lot scarier. There's never been any trouble breathing or dizziness, like anaphalaxis. Any thoughts?

if you are allergic to one nut, you could easily be allergic to many or all nuts. if i were you, i would either get tested specifically for nut allergies or eliminate them to be on the safe side, rather than keep trying to eat them and risk having one of those scarier reactions.

I'm not sure why you didn't react to the chocolate bar with almonds, but it seems risky to keep eating nuts of any kind until you can get tested by an allergist. The chapstick reaction is interesting, maybe you're allergic to camphor?

Also, the thread needs this:

Is it just raw walnuts or all walnuts? Do you have hayfever?

I'm thinking testing would be a good idea. But... it's sad. Nuts are my friends. Or were.

And omg, that was what I was thinking when I wrote the title! Thank you for this, it's my wallpaper now.

I've only had cooked walnuts. I don't think I have hayfever.

omg you are amazing

You thinking oral-allergy syndrome? That stuff is weird!

I don't know if the chapstick thing would be an allergy, but I usually get worse if I use regular chapstick. I can only get away with vaseline, which is sorta gross but there you have it, its the only thing that doesn't leave me drier in the end.

Sometimes it doesn't start out at anaphylaxis level! My ex can handle almond milk but there are some nuts she has issues with. Or she chooses to ignore low effects because the dark chocolate almond milk is worth it :p

I was thinking about that as well. Allergic reactions can get worse with each exposure, so if you ate the roasted almond chocolate bar a while ago, maybe the allergy hadn't fully developed yet?

Assuming that you have health insurance, I'd talk to your doctor about getting referred to an allergist.

Yep, prompted by the almond bar comment, but it appears not to fit.

Once my schedule regulates itself (LOL) I'm gonna call the allergist. That way I can know once and for all what I can eat and what I can't.

I have oral allergy syndrome, and I know that I don't have as strong of a reaction to roasted almonds, walnuts, and pecans. Walnuts are the worst for me btw, I can't eat raw walnuts without a very itchy mouth though I can handle raw pecans. So, perhaps that's why the chocolate bar with roasted almonds didn't have as strong of an effect.