Can an allergy start at 40?

November 4, 2009 11:17 AM

Can food allergies develop at forty years old? In my case, I'm getting hives (on my arm or hand) when i eat anything with dairy in it -- this has never happened before.
posted by LittlePumpkin to Health & Fitness (20 answers total)

Yes. Look up "late onset food allergy" and/or "adult onset food allergy" and avoid the foods that are causing you problems until you can see a doctor and get tested.
posted by amyms at 11:21 AM on November 4, 2009

Very common. My dad became extremely allergic to radishes when he was about 50. One week, he was fine, two weeks later, he had a severe reaction.
posted by Xoebe at 11:24 AM on November 4, 2009

Mr. 3dd used to be allergic to seafood but not any more. Now he has developed a severe allergy to peanuts. I asked my son’s pediatrician and she told me that is quite normal. Allergies sometimes go and some others come.
posted by 3dd at 11:28 AM on November 4, 2009

Yes. I developed lactose intolerance in my early 30s, which my doctor told me was quite common.
posted by December at 11:48 AM on November 4, 2009

One of my Aunts developed gluten, dairy and severe pollen allergy well after 30.
posted by Mitheral at 11:49 AM on November 4, 2009

Yes, nthing others' "very common." For example, I am currently suffering from fall allergies for the second year in a row, hives included, and eating ham gave me hives once and only once, though I ate it once a year. FWIW and somewhat off-topic, clear calamine lotion (with pramoxine HCl) and a capsule of benadryl are fabulous.

Dairy allergy and reduced digesetion with age is especially common, anything from slight wind to a full-blown, I-need-a-hospital attack. As we age, we gradually lose the ability to digest milk. Most of us have reduced digestion of dairy as we age, although some gene mutations end up making us horribly intolerant (although I'm not sure of allergies) and other mutations give us the ability to digest milk our entire lives. Obviously NYD. :)
posted by neewom at 11:49 AM on November 4, 2009

Just to add another data point, my cousin loved shrimp and happily ate them until she was about 17. Then one night out at a restaurant for dinner, after a couple of prawns, she suffered an anaphylactic reaction and had to be rushed to the ER. It was really shocking and scary, and from what I understand not horribly uncommon. My own allergies (grass or pollen, not food) developed suddenly in my late 20s. You should see a doctor; I would wonder if the hives were a precursor to a more severe reaction.
posted by JenMarie at 11:49 AM on November 4, 2009

Eggplant . . . fucking wonderful, delightful eggplant became my enemy in my early 30s.
I think I was eating it way too much.

Suprisingly non-unusual.
posted by Seamus at 11:55 AM on November 4, 2009

Yes, and it sucks. On the other hand, I don't know how necessary a doctor's visit is to confirm this. I developed fairly severe fish allergies around the age of 22, and all the doctor did was charge me 500 dollars to say, "Yes, you're allergic to fish, so don't eat fish." He also gave me a prescription for an epi-pen, which I never bothered to fill, since it's not like people use tuna or salmon as a hidden ingredient in cake or cookies or whatever.
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:57 AM on November 4, 2009

It's a bit strange to have the reaction in only one part of your body, though. Hives as a reaction to a food allergy usually is a full-body experience.

If it happens in a small locale, I'd be more inclined to suspect it's a reaction to something that's gotten onto your arm, than something that you've eaten.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:58 AM on November 4, 2009

Nthing the not-unusual, and wanted to add re: reactions in one part of the body - it may be strange, but not unheard of. I have antibiotic allergies, and my reactions to some (sulfas) cause hives on my legs, and others (-cillins) cause hives on my arms.
posted by chez shoes at 12:20 PM on November 4, 2009

so...maybe this is a topic for another thread, but...

WHY?

in my 30s, i now have severe food allergies, especially to eggs. what's the deal? did some other habit in life cause this?
posted by Señor Pantalones at 1:24 PM on November 4, 2009

Another data point (me) for developing multiple food allergies later in life.

The way my allergist explained it to me: nobody knows why people develop allergies; his own theory is that I've always been allergic to these things, but that early on, my response to them was mild and easily overlooked and/or attributable to something else. Over time, and with each exposure to the allergen, my body's response became more severe (not, apparently, uncommon for food allergies), until 1) it is patently obvious I have severe reactions to some foods, and 2) those reactions now can be life threatening.

One thing I've read many times from other food allergy sufferers, is that once you develop food allergies, it is not uncommon to develop more. I don't know if the basis for that is anything other than anecdotal, but my own experience bears it out. For example, several years after I was diagnosed with food allergies, I started reacting to sesame. I don't know if I've always been allergic to sesame but never ate enough of it to trigger more than an easily overlooked response, or if my bod just decided one day to be allergic to sesame too...in the end, for me, it doesn't really matter, it's just another food I can't eat. It does, however, encourage me to follow that advice to rotate foods I can eat, so that I am never eating quantities of the same food over and over. Developing an allergy to rice (my primary starch staple), is one of my more annoying nightmare scenarios.

Re: reactions in one part of the body - my reaction to milk consists primarily of hives on my feet; not a clue how that one works. I, like chez shoes, have hives primarily on my legs when taking sulfa drugs. Bodies are weird, eh?
posted by faineant at 2:53 PM on November 4, 2009

nthing very common.
posted by chrisalbon at 3:23 PM on November 4, 2009

I gained an allergy/sensitivity to scallops in my early 30s.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 6:14 PM on November 4, 2009

Another datapoint for yes. At 40 I was no longer able to eat corn or corn products (no more chips and salsa!) without paying an enormous pain penalty shortly thereafter.
posted by plinth at 6:18 AM on November 5, 2009

i now have severe food allergies, especially to eggs. what's the deal? did some other habit in life cause

The reason why people get odd allergies is probably because our immune systems need some parasites to work on, having evolved with constant exposure to them. Parasites have a lot of bad effects, so it's logical for us to have eliminated them from our lives as much as possible, but having done so may be producing allergies as a side effect. (link)
posted by Ery at 6:54 AM on November 5, 2009

Yep. Another data point... My friend developed a pretty serious allergy to shrimp. Started when he was around 45. Prior to that, he had almost no symptoms.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:38 AM on November 5, 2009

A tick bite can cause a serious allergy to beef and other red meat in adults. Who knows what might be triggering other new allergies in adults.
posted by Ery at 11:52 AM on November 5, 2009

thanks all - quite enlightening.
posted by LittlePumpkin at 3:58 PM on November 5, 2009