Trouble with cayenne

[nibor]

I have trouble eating chile/cayenne. This started in a mild form about 10 years ago and has gotten worse with time. I can avoid visible chiles but powdered cayenne is a common ingredient, and it isn’t always easy to detect when hidden in sauces.

Before the meal is over the skin on my lips starts to burn; it later cracks and peels off. And after dinner... well, the incident typically resolves with me waking up in the middle of the night to expel the offending chili and everything else as if someone had poured quart of water down me. I won’t go on. I think you get the picture.

Does anyone else have this problem, and if so, do you know a solution?

My next experiment was going to involve a Pepto Bismol aperitif, as awful as that sounds, but I am not living in the US right now and can’t get the stuff.

(I posted this to the Restaurant Life forum because this is only a problem when I eat out - please feel free to move it)

[gfweb]

I have trouble eating chile/cayenne. This started in a mild form about 10 years ago and has gotten worse with time.  I can avoid visible chiles but powdered cayenne is a common ingredient, and it isn’t always easy to detect when hidden in sauces.

Before the meal is over the skin on my lips starts to burn; it later cracks and peels off. And after dinner... well, the incident typically resolves with me waking up in the middle of the night to expel the offending chili and everything else as if someone had poured quart of water down me. I won’t go on. I think you get the picture.

Does anyone else have this problem, and if so, do you know a solution?

My next experiment was going to involve a Pepto Bismol aperitif, as awful as that sounds, but I am not living in the US right now and can’t get the stuff.

(I posted this to the Restaurant Life forum because this is only a problem when I eat out - please feel free to move it)

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You are allergic to chilis in the classic sense. Unfortunately, the only cure is avoidance of chilis. As far as I know, there is no desensitization for this allergy.

Pepto Bismol shouldn't help.

[Marky Marc]

I've heard there is a way to remove you bodies of allergies by giving your body what it is allergic to. Aparently, you administer small doses of the allergen and over the course of time work up to larger and larger doses. From what I hear, after time your body will to acclimate to whatever the allergen is. I've only heard of this being done under the supervision of a doctor, though.

[Milagai]

What if you take an antihistamine (before or after ingesting cayenne)?

Have you worsened to the point where you need EpiPen?

[nibor]

Allergies... yes gfweb, that is what my husband has been suggesting too. Such bad news for an avid restaurant goer. You would be surprised what chili is in. Sauce on duck, for instance, often has cayenne to offset sweetness. I love duck!

It used to take more to cause a reaction but now, Marky Marc, unfortunately, even those little doses you suggest upset me. I don't even have to be able to taste it. Today I was surprised by chili in a piece of chocolate.

I have not tried a prophylactic antihistamine Milagi. I did take a Benadryl for the first time last week during a particularly bad reaction. I am not sure the resulting drowsiness was worth it, as my symptoms are not systemic - no hives, etc,. It does not require an EpiPen. The reaction is pretty local to the gut. Which is good I guess. Better than having my throat swell shut!

[jgm]

I've heard there is a way to remove you bodies of allergies by giving your body what it is allergic to. Aparently, you administer small doses of the allergen and over the course of time work up to larger and larger doses. From what I hear, after time your body will to acclimate to whatever the allergen is. I've only heard of this being done under the supervision of a doctor, though.

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A friend of mine takes a Tylenol every day, under the direction of her physician, for exactly this reason. However, I don't know if that will work with every substance. But I think it's worth checking out with a physician, given the circumstances.

I've also experienced food allergies as transitory things. Earlier in life, I couldn't eat cooked onions in any form, without being in digestive distress for several days. Eventually I began to realize that I no longer had the problem. If the desensitization idea won't work, maybe time will help.

[sugarseattle]

I agree that our bodies change through time; through your lifetime, you've probably had several thousand (or million) generations of bacteria living in your gut. i agree that this is probably part of the issue. have you changed your diet recently? think back to when chilis weren't a problem...what were you eating differently? perhaps there are other foods that can help strengthen your resistence to chilis?

also, what about all those people who are getting gluten allergies. some seem to be getting them becuase they ate too MUCH wheat and then their bodies developed an allergy to the wheat. it's like your body is saying "enough already"

i wish you the best of luck. just last night I was eating popcorn, and since my teeth suck (even though I take great care of them), I became sad thinking of a day when I might not be able to eat popcorn.