Few people know that among all types of allergic reactions, there is also an allergy to tea. Yes, this phenomenon is gaining momentum every year and worries more and more people. It would seem that tea is an aromatic drink that will always warm us up during the cold season; we do not suspect that it may turn out to be an allergen. Intolerance to this drink can affect a person at any age. The main thing is to consult a doctor promptly when the first suspicious signs occur, undergo an examination, and find out specific risk factors.
Can an allergic reaction to tea occur?
Let's try to understand this issue.
Every food product can cause allergies. Tea in this sense is no exception. True, such cases are quite rare, because it is not for nothing that this drink is allowed in most diets.
When the body reacts extremely violently to tea leaves, in most cases this symptom is caused by a specific protein that is part of the plant. It's called F222.
However, one must remember that there is very little “pure” tea on sale now; the use of flavoring and aromatic additives is widespread, which can also cause allergies. Various herbs added to tea are also very strong allergens.
Tea bags often contain synthetic fibers; they are also unsafe for human health.
Allergy to herbal tea
If, after drinking a cup of ordinary tea without flavorings or any other additives, no negative symptoms indicating an allergy arise, and after drinking herbal tea negative signs are observed, the cause of the illness is, in principle, clear. The provocateurs of the disease are herbs, which are usually added to tea leaves. Herbal tea can consist of a variety of ingredients. In order to identify a specific allergen, you should choose a tea leaves consisting of only 2-3 plants and monitor the body’s reaction. Quite often, intolerance to herbal tea is observed in people who have been diagnosed with “Seasonal hay fever”.
Causes of this pathology
It is worth summarizing the causes of tea allergies. Allergens in this case may be: flavors; protein F222; flavoring additives; dyes; herbal supplements; fungus (if tea has expired); synthetic fibers.
In addition, there may be individual intolerance to the chemicals contained in the drink, a hereditary predisposition to this type of allergy and diseases in which tea has a negative effect. In the latter cases, the symptoms are very similar to an allergic reaction, and you can easily confuse them.
How to improve lactation without using tea
Finally, let's figure out how you can increase the volume of milk produced without using tea. These tips will help those mothers whose children react poorly to several teas at once.
- You can use special medications. All of them are made on the basis of natural ingredients, but the plants undergo a higher degree of purification, and therefore almost never cause allergies.
- Frequent latching can also stimulate breast milk production. It is also recommended to give the baby both breasts at once for better effect.
- Proper nutrition and plenty of drinking is the key to the normal functioning of the mother’s body, and therefore ensures the stable implementation of all processes, including those related to the formation of milk.
- 15-20 minutes before feeding, it is recommended to drink a glass of warm liquid - this can be tea, chicory or plain water. This stimulates milk flow and ensures more efficient milk production.
An allergy to lactation tea can be a real headache for a new mother who has problems with the amount of breast milk she produces. It should be remembered that an allergic reaction usually occurs due to the ingestion of a specific substance into the body. This means that if, for example, your child reacts poorly to fennel tea, then you can try to replace it with another product that does not contain this plant and the problem will solve itself.
Manifestations of this type of allergic reaction of the body
Since black tea has become one of the most familiar drinks for any person, few would think to suspect it of causing allergies. People often take antihistamines with their favorite drink.
An allergy to tea in terms of symptoms is not too different from other types of allergic reactions:
- redness and itching of the skin;
- rash;
- dermatitis;
- diarrhea (stool disorder);
- headache;
- runny nose;
- excessive tearing;
- cough, sneezing;
- suffocating attacks.
These symptoms most often do not appear immediately after a cup of drink, but after a certain time, for example after two or three days.
Who else might be allergic to tea?
Symptoms
Allergic reactions in babies can occur even during breastfeeding. It is not necessary to give your child green or black tea when introducing complementary foods for the symptoms of the disease to appear.
Even if the mother is on a strict diet, but did not remove these drinks from the diet during lactation, the baby may continue to suffer from allergies, the symptoms of which are:
- Skin rashes accompanied by itching and redness
- Runny nose
- Severe headaches
- Cough
- Salivation
- Burning on the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose
- Nausea and vomiting
Symptoms in infants
A baby is allergic to any type of tea when the mother drinks this drink. If a rash appears on the body and digestive pathologies, women look for the cause in other foods. Tea is rarely suspect.
However, if you exclude the most allergenic foods and the child is not in a healthy state, it may be worth giving up the aromatic drink for a while and replacing it with compotes or milk.
An allergy to tea in children in the first months of life may appear in the form of the following symptoms:
Causes of allergies
Scientists have identified several factors. These are the main reasons, provocateurs and causative agents of such a reaction:
- caffeine, which is found in large quantities in green tea;
- various herbs included in the collection (we are talking mainly about individual intolerance to certain components);
- artificial additives that impart taste and aroma;
- protein component number F222;
- fungus (high humidity provokes its appearance).
As you can see, allergies to black tea or green drinks are common. Currently, you can find a huge number of tea varieties on sale, varying in taste, additives, color, and design features (bags, granules, tea leaves).
Most often, expensive teas passed off as natural products include additives of synthetic origin that can cause allergies.
Even if they are harmless for 90% of people, there will be 10% of people for whom these substances will cause unsafe consequences.
Allergies can occur to different types of tea drink
Another reason for the formation of an allergic reaction is non-compliance with the storage conditions of herbs. In a humid environment, an allergen such as mycosis develops. If an allergy occurs, we are talking about the absence in the body of a sufficient amount of the enzyme responsible for processing the substance.
Less commonly, the culprit is the F222 protein. It is a tea leaf protein that is similar to the human component. The body reacts to it extremely vividly and not always calmly. A black drink is a more likely allergen than a green drink.
Allergic reaction to black collection. This process is associated with the excessive strength of the drink. A rich infusion involves a high concentration of protein and caffeine.
Allergy to herbal tea. If a reaction occurs, it is traditionally seasonal. It can be triggered by absolutely any plant that is part of herbal tea.
Reaction to green tea. It most often manifests itself not in the drink itself, but in the auxiliary components present in its composition. For example, jasmine flowers, lemon slices.
Allergy to tea in children
Can a baby be allergic to black tea? What about a green drink? Definitely, it can. The degree and reason for its manifestation are identical to those in adults. Only infants receive the drink along with their mother's milk.
Older children also suffer from allergic reactions. After all, the infant body is acutely susceptible to all kinds of additives, especially artificial ones. The child’s body is also vulnerable to teas with additives (for example, a child is allergic to tea with bergamot, ginger, etc.).
In adults
Despite a relatively developed immune system and a stronger body, adults are most susceptible to all kinds of food, just like children. In older people, the formation of an allergic reaction occurs faster. Although in this matter many nuances are strictly individual.
An allergy to Ivan tea in an adult, for example, is rare, while such a reaction is common to other teas sold in stores.
In pregnant women
A pregnant woman's body is weakened and vulnerable to all kinds of pathogens. In addition, hormonal changes occur, causing changes in eating habits. So those products that were previously acceptable may turn out to be extremely undesirable during an “interesting situation”.
Allergies to herbal infusions most often occur due to a reaction to one component of the herbal infusion
Signs of an allergic reaction in an older child
How does an allergy to tea manifest in an older child?
An older child, when he can already drink tea on his own, may not immediately develop intolerance to tea leaves. This usually happens when children drink a drink with flavorings, herbs and other additives. The pathology is manifested by cough, rhinoconjunctivitis, and sore throat. The skin is affected and spots, blisters and pimples appear on it. An older child may complain of headache, lethargy, and digestive discomfort.
Parents may notice that the baby begins to run to the toilet more often, and he develops apathy and irritability.
Lack of treatment often causes skin changes to develop into dermatitis, which is difficult to treat.
To correctly diagnose an illness, the active participation of the patient is necessary, since some methods are based on his ability to follow the specialist’s instructions with precision and personal responsibility.
Clinical manifestations of allergies
Allergic reactions to tea can manifest themselves in different ways, and each baby suffers this illness with varying degrees of severity. For example, in some people pathological manifestations are noticeable immediately after the allergen enters the body, in others they make themselves felt after a few days.
It is very important to start taking measures at the first symptoms, without waiting until the consequences become irreversible. An allergy to tea in an advanced form can contribute to anaphylactic shock, which is life-threatening for the baby. In addition, the worsening of the situation entails the onset of attacks of suffocation, which are more severe and have a negative impact on the child’s body.
Observation diary for this pathology
This method involves the patient keeping a detailed “food diary” for the period determined by the doctor. For example, he can assign this to be done for a month.
A list of everything drunk and eaten during this time, as well as information about what reaction the body has to foods, should be recorded in this diary.
An allergist will analyze the records and draw conclusions about which foods should be excluded from the menu due to allergies.
Diagnostics
In order to determine what caused the onset of an allergic reaction, there are several laboratory research methods. These include keeping a food diary, recording in it all the foods that were consumed. This type of records should be analyzed by an allergist in order to identify the allergen and properly adjust the diet.
A diet that excludes certain foods. In the usual sense, this is a fairly strict diet, which is aimed at eliminating various types of foods that can cause hypersensitization. This type of elimination diet is carried out only under the supervision of a doctor.
Skin test - performed in laboratory conditions. Using a special needle - a scarifier, the doctor makes several scratches on the forearm, and then a small dose of the allergen is dripped onto the affected areas. After 20 minutes, an allergic reaction appears.
Provocative test, elimination diet
This is a rather painstaking process, always carried out under medical supervision. First, you should exclude a potentially dangerous product from the menu. When a certain time has passed during which this product is completely eliminated from the body, the specialist includes a reaction drink or dish in the patient and observes the consequences.
Then another product is studied, and so on until the picture of what the patient can and cannot do is finally formed.
The test is carried out in a laboratory and includes an injection test and a blood test. The patient is injected subcutaneously with various allergens.
Treatment
So, we found out that there are allergies to tea.
When diagnosing yourself with certain allergic symptoms, you need to remove the allergen from your diet. If you are absolutely sure that tea is the culprit, you should stop drinking it and switch to clean, plain water. In general, drinking large amounts of purified water is beneficial for all types of food allergies. Thanks to water, the body will quickly get rid of allergens and toxins.
If you are unsure about the allergen, it’s time to consult a specialist and take an allergy test to determine your body’s reaction to the most common allergens.
If it is impossible to see a doctor and you have allergic symptoms, you must purchase at least the simplest antihistamines “Claritin” and “Suprastin” from the pharmacy. They will eliminate unpleasant symptoms in a short time.
If your allergy to black tea is too severe, when it becomes difficult to breathe due to swelling or suffocation, you should urgently call an ambulance.
For black tea
Men usually prefer to drink strong black tea, and if allergies occur, it is difficult for them to refuse the invigorating drink.
The cause of an allergic reaction to black tea can be either the tea leaf itself or various additives to the tea leaves.
Allergists are more inclined to believe that intolerance symptoms are caused by flavors and synthetic colors added to the product to enhance its taste and give it an attractive color.
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Additives in the form of herbs, pieces of fruit or berries can also cause the disease.
Healing teas
Is it possible to drink tea if you have allergies?
Herbal infusions and mono-teas, which have antihistamine properties, are used as a remedy.
Chamomile tea is most often prescribed as a mono-tea; the composition of the tea includes:
When selecting herbs, the specialist must make sure that none of the recommended herbs is an allergen for the patient.
There are also allergies to green tea.
What to do if green tea causes an allergy
In our country, there are not very many lovers of green tea compared to black; green varieties with additives that are hazardous to health are less common. However, allergic symptoms and treatment methods are similar.
It is worth considering that when choosing an antihistamine in a pharmacy, preference should be given to those with the simplest composition. They are not inferior in effectiveness to multicomponent ones, but they have much fewer side effects.
You should also pay attention to medications for the symptomatic treatment of allergies. For example, with an allergic runny nose, the use of nasal drops will help, with tearing and pain in the eyes - eye drops (Cromohexal, Allergodil, Opatanol).
