Is it possible to have an onion allergy

These chemicals can cause symptoms ranging from uncomfortable to potentially life-threatening. Having an onion sensitivity or intolerance is a more common occurrence. Food intolerances nonallergic food hypersensitivity are caused by an inability to process and digest specific foods, not by an immune system reaction.

Food intolerances typically cause less severe reactions than food allergies. If you have an onion intolerance, your immune system will not be triggered, but you may experience some of the same symptoms you would if you were allergic. These can range from mild to severe. Symptoms can also vary in terms of onset. Some people experience immediate symptoms upon eating, touching, or smelling onions. Others may not have any symptoms for several hours, or longer. Mild symptoms often resolve once the onion is no longer in your system.

They also typically respond well to at-home treatments. In some instances, you may continue to experience symptoms of an onion allergy for days after your exposure has passed.

While rare, an anaphylactic reaction to onion is possible in someone who is severely allergic. This is more likely to occur if the onion is raw, or lightly cooked.

This is known as cross-reactivity. Foods in this category include edible alliums, such as garlic , chives, scallions, and shallots. It may also include mugwort , which is sometimes used as a tea and in Asian cuisine. Make sure to read labels, especially on prepared, processed, and packaged foods. Alliums are sometimes referred to as seasonings on labels.

When in doubt, call the manufacturer prior to eating, or avoid foods with unclear labels. Foods to avoid include:. The allium genus belongs to the Amaryllidaceae amaryllis plant family. People with onion allergies may also be allergic or sensitive to flowering amaryllis plants, which include ornamental alliums, and many varieties of lilies.

Amaryllis plants often grow from bulbs. There are hundreds of flowering plants in this category. Plants you may be allergic to include:. The most effective type of treatment depends upon the severity of your allergic reaction.

Treatments for onion allergy include:. Cooking onions reduces the compounds that cause allergic reactions in some people, so eating only cooked onions may help. Make sure to also avoid edible alliums and ornamental plants that can set off your symptoms. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell. The results of intolerance if onion is ingested would be much less severe and typically not life threatening. Symptoms typically resolve once the onion leaves your system.

Should you have a severe reaction involving difficulty breathing or severe vomiting or dizziness, you should seek help immediately. In rare cases, if you are truly allergic you may experience symptoms for days after exposure. If you seek the care of an allergist and are skin tested and deemed to be allergic to onion, you need to be aware of cross-reactivity from other food and plants. These include garlic, chives, scallions and shallots.

Mugwort which can be found mostl commonly in asian tea is also included with these substances. Avoiding these substances can be quite a challenge and will require label reading and vigilance on your part! You should avoid deli salads and salad bars, flavored broths, canned soups and sauces, crackers, frozen pizza, most frozen entrees, flavored cheeses.

If you find something that you are not sure about, you can try contacting the manufacturer. There are plants that are in the same genus as onion the allium genus that may cause allergic symptoms upon exposure. These include all alliums, wild onions, wild chives, most lillies, daffodils, and tulips.

The best treatment is avoidance. If I eat them I vomit or I get marks like spots or ulcers on my skin. I was diagnosed in a hospital in Dublin about 20 years ago.

Before that, I thought I just didn't like onions and I had naturally reduced the amount I ate - but I didn't realise I was allergic to them. Where it's really awkward and limiting is when I'm invited to someone's home - it's OK when it's people who know me well, but if I'm eating with people I don't know, they initially think I am very fussy about my food.

I often choose not to eat meals or go to dinner parties in other people's homes as it seems to cause such a fuss. In the supermarket I check labels all the time - I rule out more or less all ready-made meals.

Most soups and sauces have got onion powder or garlic in them too. When I go to restaurants, I have to send the food back eight times out of 10 because it has onion in it.

It shocks me that even the most expensive restaurants can't accommodate someone who has an onion allergy. Their constant cry seems to be, "Our sauces are pre-prepared.