Allergy Sufferers and Tea?
Hi. I miss drinking tea. My ENT advises me to refrain from tea because it is highly allergenic. Does anyone here have any advice on tea I might be able to enjoy despite having severe allergies? I have been undergoing sublingual therapy with drops under the tongue 3x daily for almost 2 years now. It’s very expensive, but it’s working and I don’t want to risk jeopardizing my treatment by drinking tea, but I just wondered if there are any tea aficionados that know more about allergies and their connections to tea.
Did your ENT specify whether he meant Camellia sinensis (real tea) or all hot drinks? Because I imagine herbals might be fair game, assuming you’re not allergic to the specific plant a given herbal is made of.
Definitely check back with your ENT to get a little more info on what he meant. I’ve heard suggestions before to avoid caffeinated products for people with respiratory/sinus issues, and if that’s what your doctor meant, there’s a lot of tisane/rooibos/herbal options available to you. But your allergies sound far more severe than mine, and your doctor may have been concerned about something else. Good luck! So glad to hear you found a treatment that’s working for you, even if it may keep you away from tea.
Thanks for the feedback. All he said when I asked him if I could drink herbal tea again is that it’s just highly allergenic and he grimaced while saying it. It’s not like it would hurt me, but my goal has been trying to live with these allergies which means lifestyle adjustments and avoiding certain things I’d otherwise enjoy.
I will try to ask him to be more specific. Can anyone recommend some types of teas I should ask about? I miss the calming effects of tea and also the aromas. I liked chamomile, vanilla, citrus and mint varieties, but I admit I’m still new to tea drinking and it seemed like just as I began to enjoy it, I had to stop drinking it.
My allergies are pretty severe. I must carry an epi pen with me for emergencies. I’m allergic to most things like pollens, animal dander, yeast and mold — so, basically — life! Many have told me about eating local honey to combat allergies. It’s just not potent enough for me. I’ve even had sinus surgery which has helped like night and day.
Wow! Have you thought about moving somewhere like Alaska where they don’t have a lot of those irritants?
How was sinus surgery for you? I’m scheduled to have sinus surgery in a couple weeks and my ENT has me a little worried about recovery. He is making it sound awful and saying I’ll need narcotic pain meds which I don’t like the sound of.
I would think that some herbals would be more allergenic to you than camellia sinsensis if they contained flowers (chamomile, etc) for the pollen issue? The issue here is that herbal can mean anything from mint to berry to flowers to ginger in water. I would suggest naming a few you are interested in (such as pure mint or ginger) and seeing what your reaction is to those.
Dustin,
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner regarding your question about the sinus surgery. I assume by now you’ve already had the surgery and now have an answer to your question. It was pretty rough for me but every time I see my ENT he is extremely pleased with the results, as am I. My ONLY regret is not having it done sooner. I’m not sure what type of surgery you had, but I wonder by now if you are enjoying the results?
Uniquity,
I suppose it will be a trial and error situation and I think I soon may be ready to try some now that my body has responded fairly well to the immunotherapy. Before, I was just so allergic to so many things that I never knew if I was coming or going in defining what exactly was setting me off, unless there was a black lab in the room, for example. At least now I know if I try a certain tea, perhaps I’ll be able to tell right away if it’s affected me negatively.
Do you know what specifically are you allergic to? That might help in determining which herbals you can and can’t drink. A lot of herbal has hibiscus in them, so if you a allergic to hibiscus, then that may be why the doctor wants you to stay away. But there may be some blends that have ingredients you are not allergic to.
If I look at what I’m allergic too, it’s pretty much everything so it would be hard to just avoid any one thing I think because mold and yeast are present in so many things and that’s one of my biggest issues. I’ll look at the report again though and see if I can determine more when looking at teas.
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