Tigers & Strawberries » Super-Quick Allergy Update

Super-Quick Allergy Update

I got a call from my doctor’s office today.

It wasn’t the shrimp.

It was the black pepper.

I am allergic to black pepper. Very weird.

They didn’t give me any more information than that, so I don’t know how strong of an allergy it is.

What I do know is that I made keema sookh the other night and as usual, put about 1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorns into the Sumeet grinder along with all the other spices, and ground it up, and suffered no ill effect. I also used, in a restaurant, pre-ground pepper on my food to no ill effect.

The only thing I can think of was that the sauce at The Cheesecake Factory had so much freshly ground pepper in it, that it triggered a sensitivity. The next day, when I ground fresh pepper over a pasta salad and took a bite, a big piece of peppercorn got in my mouth and I had the same feeling of numbness begin on the back of my tongue.

But after that–no effect that I have noticed.

Very odd.

I am not sure what to do now, except mostly avoid pepper, at least, as much as I can.

Posted by Barbara on April 28, 2006 in Nutrition, Diet and Health |

50 Comments »

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Black Pepper? How much will that affect you in the long term?

Comment by Kate — April 28, 2006 #
*blink* …. what an odd thing to be allergic to.

Comment by Bastlynn — April 28, 2006 #
I have a similar reaction to scallops. Not anaphylactic, just… tingly. So I void scallops but I’m not afraid of them. I had some dried scallops (in a Chinese dish, obviously, I don’t know if anyone else in the world uses dried scallops) a month or so ago and they didn’t even cause tinglyness.

Most of my food allergies actually just kick up gastral reflux (i.e. heartburn) and some of them are so quick/extreme they cause an asthma attack (I’m asthmatic). So far it’s only scallops that cause the tinglies in the back of the throat (as far as I know).

Good luck with it.

By the way, I found your excellent blog via various friends’ recommendations on LiveJournal. Keep it coming! :>

Comment by Malcolm — April 28, 2006 #
Do you react to white pepper? It may just be the husk of the peppercorn.

Here’s hoping.

Comment by barrett — April 28, 2006 #
That is odd! But I have an officemate who had a severe reaction at a restaurant. He suspected a barbecue sauce they make - talked to the restaurant staff and found out it contains a certain (Turkish) red pepper called urfa.
http://www.zingermans.com/Product.pasp?Category=&ProductID=P-URF

He took some of the sauce and some of the pepper to the allergist who confirmed the allergy. Luckily this is a pretty rare ingredient - seems like it would be hard to avoid black pepper!

I’m allergic to shrimp, and recently determined that I’m also allergic to avocado. (Both of these allergies are self-diagnosed, so maybe it’s not a true allergy, but the symptoms are worth avoiding either way!) I went searching on the web for avocado allergy info, fully expecting to come up empty - imagine my surprise to learn it’s relatively common (as food allergies go), in part because it’s cross-reactive with latex, so people with latex allergies are often also allergic to avocado or banana or a few other items.

Anyway, good luck avoiding a repeat of the reaction.

Comment by Tricia — April 28, 2006 #
Kate–I don’t know. I am really hoping that it is a temporary sensitivity brought on by pregnancy. This apparently happens, not infrequently.

What is weird is that it is not consistent–previously ground black pepper, like you get in the big boxes at the store, don’t seem to cause problems in normal to moderate amounts. It seems to only be freshly ground black pepper in reasonably large amounts.

I guess I will just have to play it by ear and see–but today, I had another small reaction from some salsa at a local restaurant. I suspect they used a good bit of black pepper in it, and my tongue started to tingle and the back of the throat started to feel swollen and puffy, so I took a shot of liquid Benedryl (which tastes awful, btw) and it calmed down in about twenty minutes or so.

Bastlynn–not only is it odd–it is inconvenient–because in restaurants peppers is in everything. EVERYTHING.

Think of how many recipes include the phrase, “salt and black pepper to taste.”

Barrett–I haven’t tried it to find out. I may experiment later–not today. I see no reason to court a second reaction in one day, and in fact, I may wait a week or so–I really don’t want to push it and get a bad reaction.

Tricia–avocado is unusual, but shrimp–much less so. I hadn’t known about the cross reaction with latex allergies–interesting.

Malcolm–welcome! Glad you have stopped in and I hope you keep coming back.

Technically, I am supposed to be allergic to many foods, including chocolate, tomatoes, green beans, ham and American cheese. The only one that still causes any reaction is the American cheese, which is no great loss. The other thing I discovered on my own, but which is not surprising are blue-veined cheeses–the blue-green molds in them I am allergic to. I am also allergic to pennicillin, so that makes sense.

The black pepper just appeared out of nowhere, and it is really weird. Took me by surprise.

Comment by Barbara — April 28, 2006 #
This may be only an odd coincidence, but the one and only time I ever ate at the Cheesecake Factory, I had an asthma attack. Not so bad that I needed my inhaler, but I did feel my throat closing up in a most uncomfortable manner. I’ve never had an allergic reaction to food before in my life. I do remember, though, that I had added pepper to the food. Odd, no?

Comment by Kate II — May 1, 2006 #
Hello, KateII–that is an odd coincidence.

I have since found that while allergy to black pepper is rare, I am not the only one who has it–I just found out about three other people who have the same allergy, all noted on an allergy website.

I think I will call my doctor’s office and see if I should have an epipen to keep with me, and if it s safe to use during pregnancy, just because of the potential of running across black pepper in any food I eat out.

I am just glad that I don’t have asthma, too. Then, I would be really miserable, I think.

Comment by Barbara — May 1, 2006 #
Hi

My husband is alergic to black and white pepper, he had a test some years ago.Something was causing him very bad Dihoria (probaley spelt wrong. When ever we went out for a meal or occasionally when I cooked. He had a test with a postal service, since then we can be sure he is ok. We have to ask in every restaurant if food has been contaminated with either pepper.

Regards Maureen

Comment by Maureen Mellish — November 27, 2006 #
I also have an allergy to pepper. It took me a long time and lots of denial (how can you be allergic to pepper?) but I am. I get pre-anaphylactic symptoms, my face turns bright red and the inside of my mouth tingles and swells a bit. The weird thing is that pepper doesn’t always affect me that way. Maybe its the amount or how it is ground.

Comment by Katy — January 3, 2007 #
I wound up in th ER yesterday with a severe rxn to what I think was pepper. Must see a good Dr. soon–I have reacted over several years now-to what I thought was some kind of pepper allergy-maybe cayenne ? never got tested-usually just hives-2 benadryl always work–however I use black pepper to cook with -from the box-and no problem–yesterday at work I had some salad dressing-looked like caeser-and felt a small explosion in my mouth-like I bit down on a piece of a peppercorn-immediately I felt the pepper sensation explode in my mouth-very spicy-10 minutes later–my face turned red-there was no hives this time-palms itchy, face, neck, torso-ears and head felt like they were swelling-luckily I work in a hospital–took 2 benadryl and then my throat started closing-they rushed me into the ER where they administered IV benadryl and steroids. Wow, was I ever scared. Never shortness of breath though. They hooked me up to all monitors and I was stable-went home several hours later. Better find a good Dr.

Comment by joan — February 10, 2007 #
Oh my goodness! I thought I was the oly person on the planet with a pepper allergy! My allergy is life threatening though. Any amount of pepper triggers an attack. It kinda sucks big time

Comment by Michela — April 26, 2007 #
I never knew there could be a “pepper allergy”, but have had trouble with it for years. In 1993, I developed small blisters on the outside of both lips after eating blackened fish. I have noticed swelling and burning/itching of my scalp, ears and tongue after salad dressings, and any time I eat at a restaurant, I suffer because there is some form of pepper in EVERYTHING. Just last week, I ate at Outback and began suffering from a swollen tongue and burning, as well as a rash on my arms and legs. I was wondering if anyone has also had swelling and burning of the genitals, as this seems to follow after eating out as well. I also suffer from reactions to apples and nuts, though in different ways from peppers…

Comment by Valerie — April 30, 2007 #
Valerie, go and get a blood test at your doctor. Ask them to specifically test for black pepper. And then see an allergist, and ask for advice. You need an epipen.

My general feeling is this–don’t eat out.

Your reactions are worse than mine, and are not to be trifled with.

Comment by Barbara — May 6, 2007 #
I too have an allergy to Black pepper, especially cracked black pepper in its raw form. If it is ground and cooked in, it is no problem. But if not, It closes my throat some, I choke some and I have problems swallowing the rest of the meal. I normally avoid it, but sometimes in restaurants, they sneak it in there, and catches me off gaurd. Then the rest of my meal is ruined, because I can swallow well and have to try to clear my throat the whole meal.

Comment by Pamela — May 9, 2007 #
Barbara, thanks for the advice. It seems that you just can’t get away from pepper no matter what you do- unless you cook eveything from scratch and don’t use any spices. I’m not a salt eater anyway, so pepper restriction is no problem. How do you convince your doctor of something like this if he/she is skeptical? I’ve never had allergies before, and keep finding more things that I just can’t handle anymore… Thanks again. Valerie

Comment by Valerie — May 18, 2007 #
I do cook most of our food, and use lots of spices, just not black pepper. And, I have found that since I had Kat, my sensitivity isn’t as bad–but I still avoid it as much as possible just be safe, and carry around Benedryl. I am going to ask my doctor for a prescription for an epipen just in case.

What you do is ask for a blood allergy test, specific to black pepper. What happened with me, is I reacted one night at a restaurant eating a shrimp dish highly seasoned with black pepper, so I asked for a blood test for both shrimp and pepper. I suspected shrimp, but alas–it was pepper instead.

The nurse who took the blood had to call the lab to ask for the specific code to put on the sample for black pepper, and it took some time for them to find it–it is seldom tested for–but once they found it, and the sample was sent off, it took about a week to get confirmation via a written report that yes, indeed, I was allergic to pepper.

At that point, my doctor is fully justified to give the epipen prescription.

If your doctor is not so helpful, ask for a referral to an allergist. They are specialists and are well read on the new developments in the field, and will know to check you for other possible allergins, and will be able to help you with specific dietary advice as well. (I used to go to an allergist as a kid–I had horrible allergies all through childhood, but grew out of most of them. Black pepper is the only allergy I have had develop in adulthood. Very weird.)

Good luck, and let me know how it turns out.

Comment by Barbara — May 18, 2007 #
Thanks, Barbara.

I live in a very small town, but will see what I can do to find a doctor who is willing to listen to me. I will keep you posted as to the results. Good luck to you! Valerie

Comment by Valerie — May 20, 2007 #
I find it interesting to read about all the people that are allergic to ground pepper. I do cook with pepper - but only use the coarse ground pepper. If I eat fine ground pepper - I start coughing and feeling like I am going to choke. I have a hard time getting my breath. I recently had a horrible experience at a restaurant - when my husband gave me a small bite of his “pepper steak”. I took one little bite and literally thought I was going to choke to death. I coughed and gasped and coughed and gasped. This lasted about ten minutes - when finally I was back to normal. I have never had such an immediate reaction to pepper - one little bite put me in orbit! I have no problem eating horseradish or the very hot chinese mustard. After reading similar stories here - I think I will go to an allergist and find out if there is something I can take in case this happens to me again. It was rather frightening since my reaction was so fast.

Comment by Irene McPheron — June 4, 2007 #
Irene–do go see an allergist and until then, as with any sort of allergic reaction, it is best to keep an antihistamine like Benedryl with you at all times. I keep the children’s liquid–liquid medicines are absorbed faster than pills or capsules.

Comment by Barbara — June 7, 2007 #
I get serverely depressed everytime that I eat black pepper. After completely avoiding black pepper for a few years without getting depressed I retested it by eating black pepper with a severe depression attack the next day. I figured this out with a food diary that showed black pepper every time a day before a depression attack. My wife has the same reaction but so mildly (just a bit down) she only noticed it after we started avoiding black pepper. She also got the numbness in the mouth when she bit on a black pepper corn but she has a severy tree nut allery (anaphylactic).

Comment by Phillip — July 9, 2007 #
I have a pepper allergy, but to chili peppers, not black pepper. I do get an unpleasent burning from too much black pepper, but chili peppers are now becoming life threatening for me. Last night my son gave me something with green chili’s and jalepeno in it. As soon as I realized it was in there I took 2 benadryl, but still had severe reaction, swelling of tongue and throat and trouble breathing. we were on the way to ER when the benadryl finally kicked in and breathing got easier… so we went back home. However I will be on the phone to my Dr early Mon. morning! I have been trying to research this but finding nothing about allergy to chili peppers!

Comment by Karen — August 12, 2007 #
Have yourself tested specifically for both chilies and black pepper, Karen. They have different chemical compositions which both work as irritants to mucus membranes in the body. It is possible to be allergic to one and not the other. Chilies don’t bother me at all, and I can eat the really hot ones raw with no trouble, even if my nose runs!

But black pepper–well, I can eat some now, but not a lot. My throat starts to close, so it is a no go for me.

Good luck.

Comment by Barbara — August 12, 2007 #
I called the doctor’s office on Monday and am now the “proud owner” of 2 nice yellow epi-pens! lol I am also being set up with an appointment with an allergist. I will say this has me nervous. I do Not want to do any kind of food challenge with chili peppers! I understand skin tests for food allergies are not really reliable either so I am not sure what to expect. I will take DIL with me to the appt so she can describe what she saw to the doctor, I gather I looked almost as bad as I felt. Sounds like we are opposites with the peppers! lol… I find black pepper more annoying than anything else and I think that is because my mother used to over use it on many foods. The irritation I get from it is just mild burning, not anything like what the chili peppers do to me.

Comment by Karen — August 14, 2007 #
Funny, I can totally relate to the denial bit regarding the fresh ground black pepper. I love it, but until recently didn’t add up that it was causing an immediate and I might add embarassing reaction when in a quiet restaurant. I go into an uncontrollable coughing fit, tears, throat irritation, and am unable to speak for about five minutes. I guess it’s not so rare after all.

Comment by angie — August 20, 2007 #
Actually, I have a similar allergy. Mine’s to any possible type of pepper and sometimes tomatoes too.
I don’t know if it’s the same thing, but I hope this helps.
Pepper/tomato allergy is often caused by a deficiency that makes it so you can’t digest it, and the body treats it like its attacking the immune system. Or something like that.
Pepper allergy can also cause/aggrivate arthritis, so if you sometimes get stiff joints it could be related.
And, you can treat it by taking a vitamin supplement called “Royal Jelly” which contains 500 mg. Of Pantothenic Acid and 500 mg. Of Niacinamide.
Or also the mineral treatment is Phosphorus and amino acid L’Glutamine.

Well, that may or may not help any, but I hope it gives another view of the matter.

Comment by M — August 30, 2007 #
In the first part of July 2007 I had a tuna steak loaded with pepper corns. I had always enjoyed peppery food,the hotter the better. To my surprise I awoke in the middle of the night to an unpleasant burning sensation across my stomach. I thought I could neutralize it drinking a fair amount of water which I did. It seemed to go away but I then had some irritation in my lower intestines which has been intermittent. A week or so later I had salmon with black pepper in the sauce. That night my throat and sinuses became very irritated. I have since stayed away from black pepper as best I can with the thought that my sensitivity will return to normal with more rest.

Comment by Bill Morse — September 8, 2007 #
I’m allergic to black pepper as well. It first started as something that just irritated my stomach, and gave me tummy aches after eating. Now, if I taste it, I get really itchy, and get a rash.
It actually happened today!! It doesn’t seem like a common reaction though, my mouth didn’t swell. Just got red in the face.
Maybe I’m a freak?

Comment by Lynn — September 26, 2007 #
I’ve manifested the black pepper allergy almost all my life, along with a capsicum/capsciasin [seeds, oils, and fleshy ribs of pepper fruits] allergy. They’re two different things: the black pepper allergy is not to the berry so much as the fungus that grows on the “peppercorns” while they dry and ferment. It’s just not food; it’s poison. We’re just hip to that quicker than other folks!
Recently more and more restaurants have begun recognizing the seriousness of this - as much as any other food allergy - and it’s easier to get a real answer when you question the servers or kitchen staff about pepper and/or peppers. But you have to be really careful with some Indo / Mediterranean foods, where the very chemical foundation or essence of the dish is the thing that could kill you.

Comment by Jessica — September 30, 2007 #
I am allergic to ALL Peppers, even Paprika.

White, yellow green red black, chile, etc.

Yet I can eat horseradish, wasabe an other hot foods, etc

My symtoms are immediate gastro-intestinal distress and can be sick for 2 or3 days if There was an excess in even ONE bite of any food with pepper.

I get Red Rashy 1st, so sometimes when I say NO PEPPER in the restaurant, I immediately check the skin on the inside forearm, IF it is Turning RED I know there was soe form of pepper in something.
Sometimes my stomach immediately starts to burn.

Is anyone who is allergic to pepper also Allergic to MOLD???

Thanks, Karen Hemingway

Comment by Karen Hemingway — October 4, 2007 #
Does anyone know if you have allergy or intolerance for black pepper, could it be possible to have a allergy or intolerance for white pepper? I was recently tested for food allergies, intolerance, and sensitivities, and black pepper was on the list. Ofcourse, I use black pepper for everything, but I don’t want to be sick. I call myself substituting black pepper with white pepper. Is it the same? Does anyone know?

Comment by Keisha — October 22, 2007 #
Keisha–white pepper is nothing more than black pepper which has had the seed coat–the black part removed.

It is possible that the part of the pepper you are allergic to is in the seed coat, but that is not a risk I would take. If you use white pepper instead, go slowly, and keep Benadryl or an epipen handy.

Good luck!

Comment by Barbara — October 22, 2007 #
I was just wondering if anyone else is also allergic to table salt everytime i eat food with salt sprinkled on it i seem to cough and cant stop i am not allergic to any seafood so that rules out iodine but as time goes by the severity of my coughing symptom to salt seems to becoming worse.

Comment by Raymond — November 14, 2007 #
I had an extreme reaction last week and was rushed to the ER. 1st my ears itched then seconds later between my legs and under my arm pits. Then my throat started closing and I could hardly get my breath by the time we arrived. My under arms looked like I had large mosquito bites and lying down made it more difficult to breath. The only thing that I ate differently before this started was Torillo Soup, which I later found out contains white pepper. I will see the allergist Monday and of course my DR. sent me with 2 Epi-pens!

Comment by Carole George — December 1, 2007 #
THANK YOU!!! I didn’t think I was alone and your blog proves it! I figured out by process of elimination years ago that every time I use black pepper I break out in blisters inside my mouth. Its almost like it burns my mouth. Recently we had dinner at a fast food place and I broke out in blisters plus a cold sore. A friend of mine and I recalled the last time I had black pepper at a friends house (she didn’t know) I broke out with a cold sore.

Thank you again for making me feel better and knowing I’m not alone.

Comment by Bri — December 5, 2007 #
This black pepper allergy is sounding more common than I ever would have thought.

Comment by Barbara — December 5, 2007 #
Pepper allergy or any food allergy is serious business. Please don’t sit back and wonder if you think you have it; get tested! I am severely allergic to black and white pepper. I was eating some Campbells soup today at work after carefully reading the label three times checking for pepper. Keep in mind sometimes it isn’t listed individually; it is often part of a group of “spices” or “flavorings”. I called Campbells after feeling a reaction coming on and they confirmed that pepper is in the proprietary blend of “flavorings”. Of course by the time I reached Campbells I had already had to use my epi-pen. Also, each time your body reacts to the pepper it is adding more antibodies so your next autoimmune response to the offending food is likely to be worse than the previous one. Bing allergic to pepper really sucks because it is very hard to eat out or use prepared foods. But better safe than spending a few hours in the ER. Good luck to all my fellow pepper allergy sufferers out there.

Comment by Christine — December 6, 2007 #
My mom and I both have allergies to Malabar Black Pepper which we bought from Costco. My mom developed severe rashes and swelling of the lymph nodes. I, myself have had severe itching of the genitals as well as a minor rashes, and severe coughing, where my breathing has become restricted. Please caution!!

Comment by Deb — January 10, 2008 #
I,m not sure if I,m allergic to black pepper, but for about 20 years I,ve had rashes and very bad itching. But I,ve put this down to other foods that a blood test said I was allergic to. It,s taken me this long to go through the list, and exclude them all. But I have still been very bad with my skin…But just the other day I was thinking what food did I not have when I was a child, it was black pepper..I started to eat black pepper when I was about 16 when my brother introduced me to pizzas and kebabs..so as from today I will start to avoid it, I even had it this morning on my breakfast..and I itched..It s been a nightmare for years for me, I hope it is the black pepper thats causing my rashes and itchiness I will keep you imformed of my progress.

Comment by david wesley cooper — January 13, 2008 #
Hi! I chanced upon ur blog while looking for allergic reactions to pepper which my fiance suffered from. He usually breaks out in sweat no matter how tiny amount of pepper we put in our food. Tho he never experienced in form of swelling. My reaction to fresh seafood is worse than him. Have to try white pepper on him next time:P

Comment by Sherxr — January 16, 2008 #
I am so glad about this website. yesterday I ordered a pizza and I shook ground pepper all over the three slices. I had a migraine that night so bad I could not believe it. I thought could it be the pepper? So the next day I had 3 more slices and peppered them the same way, within an hour I had a migraine so bad I had to lay down. When I woke up I had a cluster of canker sores on the roof of my mouth, all located on the left side as if someone had drawn a line down the roof of my mouth and not one sore crossed the line. It was very bizzare. So I started researching online today. I won’t eat uncooked black pepper in a large amount every again!

Comment by Lisa — January 25, 2008 #
Hi, I found your site just searching around for information about whether pepper is harmful…

Strange story…I’ve never had any trouble with black pepper before, I like it, but typically don’t eat very much of it at all.

Recently to try to keep my weight down I started eating lunch at Subway a lot, four or five days in a row, always getting the same thing, a turkey sandwich with oil & vinegar and black pepper.

After a few months of this I started noticing that my face—-not the inside of my mouth particularly, or my tongue, but my whole face—-feels sort of tingly after I eat at Subway, sort of like I am blushing, or like my face is starting to go to sleep, a kind of numbness. Also my eyes will hurt; I wouldn’t quite call it burning, but it’s close.

I couldn’t figure this out, but eventually I connected it to pepper. I’m not sure that this is the cause, but it somehow seems like it fits to me. I’m going to stop getting pepper on my sandwiches and see if it stops.

Anyway, my symptoms don’t quite seem to match what I’ve read here, but anyway, thanks for having information about this, I found precious little elsewhere.

I was wondering whether anyone knew whether eating pepper regularly had any CUMULATIVE effects? Which would explain why it didn’t bother me for a long time and now seems to bother me fairly regularly?

Comment by Chris — February 21, 2008 #
Two nights ago my 20 year old daughter ate pasta with a creamy vodka sauce. Half and hour later she was in an ambulance with a severe reaction. Unable to breathe, hives, nausea, wheezing, swollen tongue, etc. We could not figure it out, but the sauce was full of red pepper flakes, we like spicy food, but this was off the charts, the only other thing she had was a salad and cranberry juice.

We really think it was the peppers, but it is hard to figure out. Anyone else with red pepper allergy?

Comment by Sallie — March 4, 2008 #
Two nights ago my 20 year old daughter ate pasta with a creamy vodka sauce. Half and hour later she was in an ambulance with a severe reaction. Unable to breathe, hives, nausea, wheezing, swollen tongue, etc. We could not figure it out, but the sauce was full of red pepper flakes, we like spicy food, but this was off the charts, the only other thing she had was a salad and cranberry juice.

We really think it was the peppers, but it is hard to figure out. Anyone else with red pepper allergy?

Comment by Sallie — March 4, 2008 #
Before reading all of these comments, I had never heard of anyone else with a pepper allergy. I am highly allergic to all forms of pepper, including black pepper, red pepper, and cayenne pepper. When I eat out, I ALWAYS request no pepper “or anything with the word pepper in it;” sometimes this means I get a custom dish, since most sauces are already prepared with pepper. My main symptoms are immediate joint pain and headache; I also get gastrointestinal distress. I really wish food manufacturers were required to put pepper on their labels. Pepper is a difficult allergy since it is in almost everything!

Comment by Deanna — March 4, 2008 #
This is incredible. A lot of these stories sound like me. I found after years of tummy aches & the runs, that I always had something with pepper in the food. I don’t like spicy, but even when buying frozen foods, spices are listed which always implies pepper with the tummy aches that follow. I can’t afford to do the doctor thing, so I am self-diagnosed. When I avoid all pepper, no problems. It is very hard to do though when going out to eat. It seems it is in everything. There are some restaurants that I now avoid all together, but cutting pizza out of my diet is never gonna happen. lol Some things are worth it. The problem is usually in the sauces that are preprepared. Nice to know I am not the only one.

Comment by Melanie — March 24, 2008 #
This is incredible. A lot of these stories sound like me. I found after years of tummy aches & the runs, that I always had something with pepper in the food. I don’t like spicy, but even when buying frozen foods, spices are listed which always implies pepper with the tummy aches that follow. I can’t afford to do the doctor thing, so I am self-diagnosed. When I avoid all pepper, no problems. It is very hard to do though when going out to eat. It seems it is in everything. There are some restaurants that I now avoid all together, but cutting pizza out of my diet is never gonna happen. lol Some things are worth it. The problem is usually in the sauces that are preprepared. Nice to know I am not the only one.

Comment by Melanie — March 24, 2008 #
I’m so glad that this was on here b/c my boyfriend didn’t believe that I could really be allergic to black pepper. At 17 I found out the hard way and ended up in the hospital not being able to breath. Luckily I have a warning sign if my tongue starts to go numb I spit it out and don’t eat anymore!! It works 95% of the time. And just like everyone else fresh cracked pepper is my worst enemy!!! But somethings like chicken nuggets that have been frozen with just a little in the seasoning seam to be ok….

Comment by Jennifer — March 31, 2008 #
I was vacationing in Hawaii and ate a 5 pepper steak, it was way to peppery for my liking but I ate a good portion of it anyway. Right after dinner I started breaking out in huge red, itchy welts that started in my arms and eventually my entire body. I have never in my life had a reaction to any foods.

Comment by maria — April 10, 2008 #
I have a pepper allergy after being someone that consumed it on everyone my whole life. Then after removing it for 2 weeks, and adding back, I reacted. It steadily got worse, but now it closes my throat if I even handle it!

Comment by Shar — April 15, 2008 #

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