Coping with Mint allergy/sensitivity

[tmh359]

Am I the only one who reacts badly to anything mint?  Cause I'm sure feeling lonely...

It wouldn't be so bad, except... Mint is EVERYWHERE!   I have to order expensive toothpaste because the normal stuff stings like crazy and makes me nauseous.  Cherry tastes like medicine.  And I can only tollerate cinnamon in very small doses (like what's mixed in the sugar for cinnamon toast small).  I have yet to discover a brand of mouthwash that does not contain mint in some form or other - or else the cinnamon kind makes first burns then makes my mouth go numb.  Ditto for breath mint alternatives.  (I can't even handle a Tic-Tac in my mouth for more than a few seconds, much less chew on it or swallow it.)

Face clensers with menthol stung, and also left my face feeling greasy.  But not in the haven't washed my face often enough way.

I don't know how much money I've wasted on cough drops/throat lozenges, chapstick, lotions, etc, only to discover after application that, you got, there is mint of some sort in it.  

And sadly, avoidance seems to have only made reactions worse.  Just the smell of other people's mints (breath mints, candy mints, peppermint sticks) makes me feel ill.  And the first time I consumed any in eight years, it was an accident, had half of a mint Brussells cookie, and a stomach ache for a good twenty minutes.

Anyone else here that *look* when you tell others you and mint don't get along?  Care to share your symptoms?  Your coping/mint alternatives?  

Tiffany

[carlkaren]

you are is a serious situation. I understand because I am allergic to fish and seafood just like that. I could walk into the house where my mom was frying fish and break out in hives and just have to get out of there and my family also thought I was making a big deal out of nothing. That is until I was allergy tested and the doctor told them how serious this was. I also ended up in the emergency room because of fish sauce in some pork egg rolls. Now that I am older I am becoming allergic to other things too. I am on line everyday trying to find out what may be causing my latest rashes. Good luck with your search and your parents.

[sarrel]

Got a fix for the toothpaste/mouthwash problem.

I'm not horribly allergic, I can eat thin mints and other stuff with small amounts of mint in it, but mint toothpaste and mouthwash are a big nono.

Just go a few feet over on the supermarket shelf and get the kids stuff. Unless you have some other special requirement like sensodyne or some special flouride content or whatever, just get the toothpaste and mouthwash they make for ten year old kids. You can usually pick between bubblegum and various fruit and tropical flavors.

I usually use the bubblegum flavored disney princess stuff, and right now I'm just using the phineas and ferb promotional mouthwash. It might be a bit silly, but it beats feeling like you're swishing bleach.

[Nfreytag]

I have had a spearmint allergy for about 5 years. I don't have a problem with anything else except certain sun blocks. People think i'm crazy when i tell them i can't have spearmint. The other day i accidentally ate a spearmint candy and it was not good. I broke out in hives, got a headache, and just felt awful. I think my allergy to spearmint gets worse with time. I just keep some kind of antihistamine around and pray i will never need an epipen.

[LadyBug1118]

I am also allergic to Menthol... but my concern is the eczema on your palms ?   I have it also ?   Are they related ?   If I inhale Menthol for any length of time, I go into anaphylatic shock... I need EMT 's to save me !!  but I have learned to live with it !!   I do not know why I have the palm problems ?   I thought it was stress related ?  Or is it a soap alllergy ?
Please advise me...  

Shirl in FL

[kai13_tucker]

wow  i cant belive this i knew i wasnt alone , i have had  an mint allergy since i was long  as i chould rember  i cant be around it , my parents tell me it mental and it all in my head .......... its not in your head when you cant stand  in the same room with some mint gum without a  throwing up    they make fun of me by  putting tooth paste under my nose and watching  me as my whole face swells up my freinds are no help either  they bring gum to school(class of 12 people ) for everyone and purposly  not give me one because its mint and   say im sorry while i have to remove myself from the lunch room (we are only allowed to chew gum at lunch time )  and eat in the bathroom  (only other  place we can be  for freetime ) this happens alot    ive been using kids tooth paste or aqua fresh the mint free one   but  since my parents  buy tooth paste somehow the always forget  about my mint allergy  when i go in to anaphleptic shock  because they accedintly  get  hint of mint aqua fresh other than mint free  they  say nothing my freind try to stab me with her epipen  when it happens but  they stop her because "shell be fine in a little "wich i usally am  but still dont give me help while  im over her looking all deformed

[gillianra]

You might want to ask your doctor about getting checked for H. pylori infection - if you have inherited the tendency to develop allergies, H. pylori infection in your stomach may cause you to develop new food allergies -
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1572-0241.2004.04080.x/abs/
American Journal of Gastroenterology Volume 99(2) Page 225  - February 2004
Helicobacter pylori Increases the Epithelial Permeability to a Food Antigen in Human Gastric Biopsies