the buzzing mug

November 17, 2006 9:31 AM

caffeine allergy: fact or myth?

i watched lead ballon (a british comedy) not long ago where one of the characters has a caffeine allergy, does a caffeine allergy really exist? i've never heard of it before and google brings up some very shady results.

posted by randomizer to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

From Caffeine hypersensitivity in Allergy. 2002 Sep;57(9):859-60.:

"We present the case of a 69-year-old woman who had developed generalized urticaria after intake of the over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication Thomapyrin (250 mg aspirin, 200 mg paracetamol, 50 mg caffeine) two months prior to presentation at our Allergy unit.
. . .
But 20 min after oral challenge with 150 mg caffeine the patient noticed generalized pruritus and within minutes large areas of the skin were covered by confluent wheals. Caffeine hypersensitivity was diagnosed and antiallergic treatment was initiated resulting in complete recovery.
. . .
So far, only four cases of caffeine-induced hypersensitivity symptoms presenting with urticaria or even cardiac arrest have been described in the literature.
. . .
By history, one cup of coffee with approximately 100 mg caffeine induced a systemic reaction in our patient, which is a lower amount than that needed for induction of urticaria in the oral challenge test"
posted by daksya at 10:08 AM on November 17, 2006

The immune system can be allergic to just about anything. You've probably heard of chocolate, peanut, wheat, opiate, and penicillin allergies. A caffeine allergy sounds pretty plausible to me. Also, lots of people call any negative or unexpected reaction an allergy even if the immune system isn't involved. Heck, it might even be psychosomatic but that still means real symptoms.

To throw in one more weird one, I am actually allergic to being scratched. It's called dermatographism.
posted by chairface at 10:09 AM on November 17, 2006

My son is allergic to red dye #5, as well a most red foods (watermelon, strawberries, ketchup). I no longer doubt any allergy claims.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 10:14 AM on November 17, 2006

Best answer: FACT: In my case, related to Acid Reflux. I have other triggers: Chocolate, Raisins, and dried fruit treated with sulpher. Consequently, I am unable to consume soft, dry fruit (or, sadly, chocolate, or regular coffee)
posted by parmanparman at 10:28 AM on November 17, 2006

I'm not a MD, and I certainly don't know the exact physiological qualifiers for a reaction being an "allergy." I do know that I cannot tolerate caffeine at all, and have very real physical reactions to consuming it. Once, I accidentally drank 2 diet cokes in a row (with caffeine). I wasn't paying close enough attention and I thought they were caffeine free. within 30 minutes, my heart began palpitating so fast that I lost consciousness. I literally couldnt stand any longer and fell to the floor. I was woozy and felt pretty sick. I don't drink coffee, soda, or tea with caffeine. I can have small amounts of chocolate occasionally.
posted by theantikitty at 10:41 AM on November 17, 2006

Whoa, chairface. so THAT's why I get red welts from the tiniest scratch. I had no idea it was an allergy or even a common thing, I had just assumed it was "sensitive skin".

Purely an anecdote but a good friend of mine has developed a heightened sensitivity to caffeine over the years. It is a serious substance and hypersensitivity / allergy is not that surprising to me.
posted by utsutsu at 10:42 AM on November 17, 2006

In theory, anyway, it is possible for one to be allergic to anything.
posted by fvox13 at 10:50 AM on November 17, 2006

chairface, I have that too! We should form a support group (not that it impacts my life much).
posted by altolinguistic at 11:16 AM on November 17, 2006

This may not be what your talking about, but you can definitely be sensitive to caffeine. It gives me extreme difficulty falling asleep within 10 hours of consumption. (Yes, even just a can of coke.)
While that does seem anecdotal my brother has the same problem but we discovered this about each other completely independently of one another.
On our own we both stopped drinking caffeine after lunch.
posted by JakeLL at 1:38 PM on November 17, 2006

I was just reading that some people who had experimented with LSD and had bad reactions to it, couldn't touch caffeine without bad things happening.
posted by matkline at 2:27 PM on November 17, 2006

Where was that, matkline?
posted by TochterAusElysium at 4:34 PM on November 17, 2006

Best answer: Years ago, my mother was plagued with frequent migraines. She suspected a food allergy, and a food diary revealed a connection to chocolate. When she gave it up, the headaches almost completely went away. Caffeine was revealed to be the culprit. Peanuts and lentils proved to be the cause of the few remaining migraines. Apparently they contain chemicals similar to caffeine.

My sensitivity is much milder. A chocolate bar gives me a headache and a cup of decaf leaves me awake all night, staring at the ceiling.
posted by baho at 5:53 PM on November 17, 2006

Best answer: I was diagnosed by a doctor when I was 13 years old as being allergic to caffeine. Prior to this event I had basically never had "cola", we always had Sprite in our home and that is what I always drank outside of the home as well. I had to go to the dr because of severe abdominal pain and dizziness. This came after drinking A LOT of cola-type sodas at my aunt's house over Thanksgiving. I stay very clear of caffeine drinks. I occasionally have one, but pay for it later. Same goes for chocolate. And my thought is that a Jolt/Mt.Dew/Red Bull would kill me! (of course not literally, but I can only assume it would make me wish I were dead) Yes, as bizarre as it sounds, it does exist.
posted by illek at 9:07 PM on November 17, 2006

This thread is almost painful for me to read. I think the best way to clear it up is to point out that only daksya's answer has any relation to the medical term, "allergy."

Poor understanding has caused this word, "allergy," to take on a meaning to the layman that is entirely divorced from the definition that doctors use.
posted by ikkyu2 at 1:57 AM on November 19, 2006 [1 favorite]