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

[jessicaMOM]

Hello My son goes into anaphalactic shock after consuming some mint this is still new to us and he is terified to consume anything mint Halloween is a nightmare i have to sift threw all his candy with a fine tooth comb he has no trouble with toothpaste though. we have just been avoiding mint alltogether.

Jessica

[Maxie217]

Hi, Tiffany, No, you are not alone.  I could be your twin.  I can't do lozenges, cherry medicines, cinammon, peppermint/wintergreen chewing gum, peppermint candy, or tic-tacs. I am having trouble finding the right kind of toothpaste, and I can't stand mouthwashes.   The only minty things I can tolerate and enjoy are spearmint gum, Clorets gum (discontinued unfortunately for me), mint ice cream, Andes candies, and Xmas peppermint Kisses (which taste more like spearmint to me). I like the smell of Mentholatum, but not Vicks. I do like the taste of mint leaves in food. And I love the taste of the polishing paste my dental hygenist uses after a cleaning.  You are right, mint is everywhere, and depending on the type, it can be a source of fresh delight or a trigger mechanism for the gag reflex.

[jessicaMOM]

as for chapstick try Aveno's olive oil one its quite good and as far as i know has no mint in it avoid Burts bees it has plenty mint
Jessica

[nat246]

So nice to hear someone else is allergic to mint - thought it was just me.  What toothpaste have you found?  I have had a couple and then they stop making them and I am fed up.
I avoid all other kinds of mint in anything.

[soapdawgz]

I have found that I can stand colgate's 12 hour protection teeth whitening toothpaste as it seems to have no mint in it

[ahsokatano011]

I am highly allergic to all mint. I have to carry two epi pens everywhere I go. I cant have anything mint so I use the following. Burts bees fruity kids toothpaste, bubble gum mouth wash or saltwater rinse, and unsented floss. As for chapsticks I use the burts bees watermelon. The products I listed you can find at Target, Walmart, Amazon.com and supprizingly Big Lots. Hope this helps  

[Mossy97]

I am also allergic to mint, menthol, peppermint and spearmint.  It's a pain, it used to just cause my lips to swell but it can give me a rash and make me break out.  The toothpaste I use is Toms of Maine Silly Strawberry, it's the kids brand but it words well, they also make a lemon/lime mouthwash and I don't have a problem with it.

[Brattitude]

I'm so happy to know I'm not alone in my mint/menthol crisis. I am at a loss for advice though, I use the normal toothpaste and just avoid other mint products as best I can. I can ingest small amounts usually an be ok (like mint chocolate), but I can't have gum or breath mints without a sneezing fit and a stomach ache.

[chizzle]

I don't have an allergy to mint, but as for the problems w/ dental products, try contacting your dentist office.  A lot of times, they carry in office special toothpastes, mints, gum & mouthwashes in multiple flavors, or they can order them for you.

[tmh359]

Yea!  I'm alone!

Toothpaste I use is Desert Essence - usually the Nautral Tea Tree Oil with ginger.  Have to order it on line though, as its next to impossible to find.  

[sanchin]

i started to react to mint a few years  ago(i had chewed mint gum for years). my first reaction was to a tooth pick from a chinese restaurant my lips swelled like a balloon where the toothpick was. you would not believe how many spices are related to mint,which i have not reacted to yet, such things like oregano go figure. i was using toothpaste with no mint,or so i thought, until my lips puffed up a bit. i keep benadryl in the house and have epi pens one at work an done at home but they only last like a year then you have to get new ones. i tried cinnamon tooth paste until recently as i react to that now been using baking soda but i like these other alternative toothpastes that you guys listed thanks. people don't think it is that hard to avoid mint but it is.

[Flowers_in_April]

Thank goodness I am not alone.  I thought it was mental.  My throat burns if someone chews spearmint gum.  Even someone applying spearmint lip balm triggers a reaction. I can't go anywhere without ending up with a burning throat, post-nasal back drip, headache, and general malaise. There is a mint addiction out here! Now I found more people chewing gum or eating candy with higher concentrations of mint.  I can't go anywhere, yes anywhere at all.  I have had to rush out of the grocery store or even leave movie theaters because of this.  I only enjoy open areas like the park.  

[hashroe]

i have been allergic to mint for 24 years, it iis very hard to deal with. it burns my skin and if i eat it i blow up like a blow fish and then go into anaphalactic Shock. If someone is eating mint around me, i start to get dizzy, and my skin goes red and i feel very sick.

it is very uncommon to be allergic to mint and alot of people don't believe you can be. but there are a few people out there.

good luck to you all

[johnlessmint]

I am a 48 year old Male on November 11, 2008 and I never before had a mnt or salicitate problem, until now I belive anyway.  I went to the allergist because I indicated that the last two times I had mint I had a swollen lip and the secodn time was painful as my lower lip swelled and hardened.  I had to take benadryl both times.  Then last night I used sesodyne toothpaste tarter controlled with whitener.  My upper lip swelled a bit and I had to rinse immediately and go to bed in stress.  I woke up fine so it was only a small amount.

Then the other day the allergist told me she thought it was a nut allergy but I didnot buy it.  I said mint or sallicitate and she never had a patient for that.  I am scheduled to be tested July 29, 2008 for everything.

She indicated the tomato sauce I ate might have doen it as I had prego one night and home made the next.  Their were no nut ingredient at all in teh sauces and both times that evening I had mint gum or candy.  Three hours later swollen lip.

I was reading on web md what to stay away form and the list is very long.  I never had a fruit problem with such fruits as peaches and pears and berries except strawberries and grapefruit.  I have to stay away form them.

I love cinnnamin so I bought cinnamin toothpaste and mouth wash and removed the mint form the shower.

The final inidciation of mint problems is my sun tan lotion contains salicitate the main ingredient that the mint family is in.  My back of the legs were very ichy and irritated from the lotion, dry skin and the alow with menthol I put on afterwards.  

Does this sound like a mint or salicitate allergy?

[tmh359]

Menthol is also a key thing with the mint family.  If you're having mint issues, avoid anything with menthol, where you can.

[sawoodhick]

Wow! I didn't realize there was this many people with mint allergies. I have had a mint allergy for 28 years now and its getting worse as I get older (first it was the upset stomach, now its the throat swelling shut). It is getting increasingly harder to find toothpaste without some form of mint in it. My problem is that I don't know if it is only synthetic mint that I am allergic too or real mint as well. I can eat bee balm and basil without any problem, but I cannot even kiss my boyfriend after he brushes his teeth or my throat swells shut. Even the smell of mint gum makes me sick to my stomach.

[DCinBC]

I am a 50 male and I am also allergic to Mint.  Last year I told my doctor that I had trouble (short of breath) singing in church and at my singing lessons (I always did chew gum before church and before my lessons).  The problem would come and go. The doctor offered me an inhalant, which I refused.  Then I got tested for asthma (negative) and for allergies and nothing helped.  I did not want medications.  My wife noticed that every time I started chewing gum I would sneeze.  She suggested I stop chewing mint gum for a while.  I am a different person now.  I went back to the allergist and asked to be tested for mint and we got a positive.  The doctor’s comment was “first time in five years that I get a positive to mint.”  Well, he may not ever found another case of mint allergy because it is not in his “default” test repertoire, and people don’t even suspect it to request it.  Now I chew non-mint gum.  My favorite, Lime Blast.  When I go to the basement to play my guitar and sing, once in a while my children come down and offer me mint gum… I wonder why?

DC in BC

[HMStocker]

OK I'm finding that I'm not completely crazy! You all don't know how much comfort I've gotten from these posts!

My son (at the time 5 years of age) would periodically get itchy. It would start with his hands and feet or his face. Pretty soon the kid is covered in hives--it's so sad and he's completely miserable. Knowing what I know about allergies, I was sure it was something dietary. We would have to give him Benadryl and the itching would subside. This has happened maybe three times before we made connections. Each time it happened, we noticed he'd had a Halls cough drop. Bingo! No more of those, no more itching. Then one day he had a piece of gum. I began reading ingredients and the only connection I could make was either the "flavoring" or the mint/menthol connection. I thought it was the flavoring because his favorite icecream is mint chocolate chip and he eats it with impunity.

Today, I gave him a heavenly piece of my mint filled dark chocolate and guess what?? He got red and itchy--hives all over his face, cheeks etc. Back to the Benadryl and a complete and total ban of all things mint going into my baby's body.

The positive in all of this is that he recognizes that it's bad for him and makes him miserable, so he's willing to stay away from those things. Guess he's going to have to find another favorite icecream!

Cheers,
Heather

[aprasax7695]

I had a cough drop in my mouth for bit of scartchy and itch throat when going to bed last night. Then I fell asleep with the cough drop in my mouth.

This morning, when I woke up, I had this painful, itchy. burning throat.
I thought I was going to have a cold, but there was no fever or any kinds of cold symtomps.

It is painful and my throat and even my heart is burning together. Is because of the menthol that the cough drop has or what...?

Thanks,

[leo421]

The worst are mint cakes. They make me so sick. I can't stand the insensitive people I work with who always seem to get a mint ice cream cake for every occassion! Whatever happened to plain old vanilla????

[lolo505]

I'm 22 and have been allergic to mint for about 4 years. Whenever I consume or am in close contact with peppermint, spearmint, menthol, etc. my throat and ears burn and feel a little nauseous. I've never met anyone else with this allergy so i'm quite relieved to know there are others out there!

I use tom's of maine fennel toothpaste. it tastes like black licorice! tom's also has cinnamon, but that still tastes minty to me, as well as strawberry, which is too sweet for me. It's only like 5 or 6 bucks and you can buy it at trader joe's. even if i wasn't allergic to mint i would use this toothpaste-it's amazing! there are a ton of mint products out there but i always check the ingredients of chapstick, lotions and soap to make sure they are mint-free. i have to be careful with gum, too. most fruit-flavored  gum still has a bit of mint in it that i react to. the only ones i can have are juicy fruit and bubblelicious!

[lost_help]

both me and my cousin have been allergic to mint for years now. i got me first reaction when i was six, and it has just gotten worse over the years. i tell my dentist about my allergy every time i go in. he has recommended paste only toothpastes that he offers. it doesn't taste all that great, but i have yet to get a reaction to it. as for sore throats, when i get them i suck on a dum dum lollypop and the soreness goes away for a while, and some times all together. i haven't yet though found a mouth wash that i don't react to. if any one knows any please post.

[DCinBC]

Try "Prevention"  Mouthwash

www.preventionlabs.com

[meeps]

So nice to hear that I am not the only one.  3 years ago during pregnancy I ate a peach (not a new food to me) and my face turned red and itchy, my mouth stung and my throat closed.  Within the next few months I was diagnosed with oral allergy syndrome: all tree born fruit except citrus, all nuts, the parlsey family (fennel, dill, carrots, celery, etc), and now the mint family.  First I reacted to rosemary in a bread then mint, then thyme.  Now I am mourning basil and oregano.  How on earth will I cook?  The mint in my Plaque rinse makes me break out.  I will try the toothpaste mentioned above as I am also allergic to strawberries.  Does anyone out there have a similarly long spreadsheet for the kitchen when you go out to eat?

[Hilclover]

When I eat certain foods, I haven't figured out what, I think mint, I get painful aches in my joints in my legs and I run a fever. It comes back about once a day for three days in lessening degrees each day and then vanishes. I thought for sure I was imagining the mint connection until after abstaining for almost a year from mint I thought oh why not, I'll have some minty chocolate crumbles on my dessert and sure enough by the next day I was in great discomfort in my legs and couldn't stop figgeting my legs. Strangely advil didn't work to get rid of fever leg aches. Maybe I should have used benedryl? Anyone else get achey legs and fever?

[cat2468]

Orange listerine is good. I'm allergic to mint also and it never bothers me. Hope that helps.

[CrazedTopher]

I don't think I am allergic tehnically, but ever since I was little....I had mint girl scout cookies and threw up from them. Anything with mint....such as toothpastes, gum, etc I cannot use because I will gag in torment...it's so detestable to me. Even, when other people around me chew on mint gum...I start feeling sick by it! I have had to use fruit/bubblegum flavors for a long time! I was so angry when Crest discontinued Lemon Ice...it was the perfect thing for me because I never felt sick using it.