When searching the internet for information about a tea allergy, you are not very likely to find much information. Instead, you are bombarded with information about tea for allergy relief and how green tea can help soothe seasonal allergies. If you are one of the few that suffer from this, that information is most unhelpful. This article will help to find out what exactly a tea allergy is, what the common symptoms are, what causes people to have this allergy and tea allergy treatment options.
What is a Tea Allergy?
It is nothing more than a type of food allergy (a bad reaction from your body’s immune system). This is most likely caused by hypersensitivity or intolerance to caffeine or tannin (which are common ingredients in most teas). The two most common types of teas to cause allergic reactions are chamomile and linden tea. When you have an allergy to tea then you will find that most of the home remedies that can cure the average allergy are from herbal teas which help cure a lot of different allergies. But if you are specifically allergic to the herb that is found or used in herbal tea then you will only make the problem worse by drinking any tea.
More Causes of Tea Allergy
The causes of tea allergy are basically the failure of your body’s immune system to be able to produce the antibodies that are necessary to defend against tea. Being allergic to tea does not necessary mean that you are allergic to caffeine or tannin but rather that you are allergic to the actual herb found in tea. If you discover that you are allergic only to some herbal teas and not others then you more than likely have a tea allergy. Obviously knowing the specific herb that you are allergic to will help you avoid those teas and help you avoid the reactions that you get.
If you have a tea allergy it is quite rare and most of the many symptoms that you get will only last for a day or two. But in some very rare cases it can be severe and eventually land up in an anaphylactic shock which needs emergency care immediately. Unfortunately there is no cure for this kind of allergy and the best that you can do is make sure what type of tea you are allergic to and simply stay away from drinking it. But it is also strongly advised that you should consult a doctor to find out the best way to treat your symptoms if you accidentally ingest the type of tea you are allergic to.
In most cases, symptoms caused by tea allergies will clear up within a few days. In the most extreme cases (which are extremely rare), people can go into anaphylactic shock. When this occurs, a person’s throat will swell, blocking all airways causing suffocation. If this does happen, rush to the hospital immediately!
The Most Common Tea Allergy Symptoms
There are dozens of possible symptoms. Listed below are the most commonly occurring:
- Eye Irritation
- Runny Nose
- Swelling
- Sneezing
- Skin Irritation
- Headache
- Eye Irritation
Duration of each Symptom is as follows:
Eye Irritation
In most cases, your eyes will be the first to show symptoms. This allergy cause red, itchy and irritated eyes or cause your eyes to water. This can be very minor (lasting only a couple of minutes) or can last a couple of days.
Runny Nose
A runny nose is generally very minor. It normally lasts for a couple of days.
Swelling
If you ingest tea and have a tea allergy, you may experience bodily swelling. This is typically facial, tongue, and lip swelling. If you begin to feel your throat swelling or have trouble breathing or swallowing, contact a doctor right away or go to a hospital emergency room as quickly as you can as the symptoms could develop very quickly from there.
Sneezing
Sneezing generally lasts for a couple of hours. However, you may sneeze quite frequently.
Skin Irritation
Skin irritation includes itchiness, hives (bumps that are raised), and types of eczema (dry skin). All of these conditions should only last a couple of days. If they do not go away within the first couple of days, you may want to consult a doctor.
Headache
If you have seasonal allergies, you are probably familiar with a sinus headache. This is very similar, causing pain in the front or back of your head. These headaches can last just a few hours or a few days. this symptom could also be combined with nausea and vomiting but should last a couple of days and clear up.
Sometimes strange allergy symptoms will occur. You may experience nausea or vomiting, constipation or diarrhea, or light headedness and trouble sleeping or insomnia. Most symptoms should only last up to a couple of days, but if they do continue then you will need to go and see your doctor who will do an allergy test to see if it actually is the tea.
Treatment Options For Tea Allergy
The exception about an allergy to tea is that most advice to cure an allergy will come in the form of a tea but if you are allergic to tea then drinking tea will only make it worse. But there are tea allergy treatment options and ways to solve the problem, the best way to find a cure is by first starting with the problem which is basically your immunes systems ability to over react to antigens causing the body to produce antibodies, which is what cause the symptoms that you know so well. So by boosting your immune system you can solve the problem and you will also get the added benefit of just generally feeling better.
- Your first step should be Butterbur and Tinospora which has proven itself to be effective in clinical trials that have been done. You should get the processed version of Butterbur as it will not contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) which are not good for you and can make the tea allergy worse. You can get commercial preparations of Butterbur with the PA’s in them by taking 180mg of fexofenadine which will help a lot in just a week.
- Another alternative is the use of nettles and goldenseal which have been proven to be successful in mild forms of tea allergy. The nettle is available in a capsule and tablet form and the goldenseal should be added to a saline solution and be made into a tea that you should drink. But there are also many other effective immune system boosters that also act as anti-oxidants as well so there is only good things that can happen from taking those.
- The other important immune system boosters are Echinacea, Astragalus and Maitake which all act very efficiently as immune-modulators and will help your body deal with tea more effectively. But that is not all the boosters that you can get as there is a large selection of other boosters that will help you solve the way that your body deals with tea. Basically the idea is to be able to slow down the production of antibodies that are produced in your system when you drink tea and some of these remedies will even require you to drink a tea that you may enjoy. For example nettle tea that can be purchased or you can make it yourself by growing your own stinging nettle which you then simply dry and make a tea out of it. The advantages of drinking three cups of nettle tea a day will quickly show themselves as you will soon be able to drink any tea you want without getting an allergic reaction.
You can typically soothe many symptoms caused by allergies. Many have natural remedies that you can try at home. The best way to manage this allergy is to keep away from tea. All tea may not bother you. If you are only allergic to certain types of tea, you should still take the proper precautions when ingesting any form of tea. Be sure to read the nutritional labels for the listed ingredients before drinking tea. Consult your doctor for further instructions on how to treat the tea allergy symptoms should you accidently ingest tea in error.
