Onion Intolerance
Things You Should Know If You Have An Onion Intolerance
If you have an onion intolerance, it may also include other members in the onion family including shallots, leeks, chives and garlic. Many individuals do not even realize that they have developed an intolerance or an allergy to onions until later in life.
Sulfur is believed to be the underlying cause for having an onion intolerance. Sulfur is present not only in onions but also in beans, oysters, kale, chives and garlic. Technically speaking, an intolerance is any kind of adverse reaction to a specific ingredient or food. Since there is not a histamine that is released, classical allergy symptoms like water or itchy eyes are not present.
The primary cause of any type of food or ingredient intolerance is because an essential enzyme is absent that is needed for your body to correctly digest certain foods. Recurrent mouth sores, gastrointestinal problems and stomach ulcers are often linked to an onion intolerance.
Symptoms
The most popular symptoms of this type of intolerance are stomach cramps, bloating and diarrhea., vomiting, migraines, fatigue, queasiness, upset stomach, feeling clammy, bad breath, flatulence, an abundance of stomach acid and a disturbance of sleep.
Some sufferers will experience an allergic reaction from just being in the same room while an onion is being cooked. These types of onion intolerance symptoms include breathing difficulty, mouth burning, burping and blisters forming in the mouth, throat tongue or gums. Over time, these blisters will either burst into ulcers that will often last for several months or they will simply disappear on their own.
Some individuals that have an allergy to onions will go into an anaphylactic shock from only a very small consumed amount while others need to eat large amounts before a shock that is life-threatening arises.
Home Treatment
If you happen to experience onion intolerance symptoms after you eat raw or cooked onions, onion powder or onion extract, immediately stop eating and determine if the symptoms disappear. The best way to treat this food disorder is to completely eliminate onions and garlic out of your diet. It is helpful to create a safe list or an unsafe list, whichever works better for you, and find recipes that use alternatives.
Depending on severity, you may need to check food labels on absolutely everything that you buy, especially soups, sauces and frozen meals to see if onions are an added ingredient.
Medical Treatment
Antihistamines are the most common prescribed form of treatment for an onion intolerance. It is important to note that while antihistamines do help to control food allergies and minimize symptoms, they do not at all affect your intolerance. Therefore, just because you take an antihistamine does not mean that you can add onion to your meal. If symptoms are completely gastrointestinal, a food allergy is almost always the cause.
If a severe reaction to the onion is present, emergency medical attention is needed immediately. You may want to speak with your doctor about being prescribed an Epi-pen in case of emergency. This is a self-injectable type of adrenaline or epinephrine. You should fully understand how to work this device and it needs to be carried on you at all times, especially to restaurants. Only use the Epi-pen if you are having an allergic reaction and never offer your prescribed pen to someone else, different prescriptions will affect people in various ways.
You never can be too cautious in restaurants. Do not expect your server to know if there are onions in a dish or even onion powder. Request that they ask the chef for confirmation and upon ordering you should always let them know of your allergies so that the information can be addressed to the kitchen.