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Vitamin B3 (Niacin) is well known for it's ability to make people flush (skin turns bright red), but it's not necessarily an allergic reaction. I'm not an allergist, but I'm more familiar with the term "red man syndrome" for someone who has a hypersensitivity reaction to the IV antibiotic vancomycin.
Vitamin B3 is found in quite a few common foods - red meat, poultry, fish, nuts, potatoes, pasta, etc. Have you ever had problems with these foods?
Did they have to give you epinephrine or diphenhydramine (i.e. it was an actual true allergy, not a hypersensitivity reaction)? If so, did they talk to you about whether you need to carry an Epi pen (especially if your throat started to close)? With the way you're describing it, it sounds like a normal hypersensitivity reaction to niacin, not a like threatening allergic reaction (which is a good thing!)
Not the same thing but yeah, kind of. The first time I gave blood I found out I was allergic to the topical iodine they put on your arm...not the most fun way to find that out. Lol. Now it makes me scared for things like going to the hospital because they use it SO much for necessary things. :/ Boo.
This is a very common side effect of Niacin. It causes vasodilation and itching. It normally passes on its own in 10-20 minutes, I am an ER nurse and we get people in here all the time with this.
If you want to take Niacin as a supplement you need to build up your dose gradually, so you can tolerate the higher doses without the side effect.
Re "allergic reactions" many people say "i've had it before and didn't have a reaction". You don't have an allergic reaction the first time you are exposed to something. You have to be exposed to something for your body to bulid up antibodies that may cause an allergic reaction in the future.
@bestbuddies: That's what's known a Niacin Flush. It's uncomfortable, but harmless and goes away on it's own in about an hour. Red Man Syndrome is related to IV antibiotics like vancomycin and deadly if untreated.
Unfortunately, it's completely normal to have that type of reaction to niacin, and is not going to be ameliorated by benadryl, since it's not an allergy. Try a slow-release version called "Slo-Niacin" next time, and the symptoms will be reduced.
Not B3...but found out I was deathly allerigic to Benadryl in college. I took a Tylenol PM the night before we were leaving to drive to Florida for Spring Break. Apparently Tylenol PM has one of the same active ingrediant as Benadryl. I started breaking out in hives that morning and a friend gave me a benadryl...I ended up going into anaphylactic (spelling?) shock on the road and spent the night in some random hospital in GA.
@bestbuddies: It took forever to figure out, but about 5 years ago I found out that I had an allergy to the sun. Which sucks, because I love the sun! I had hives all over my face and body that I could never get rid of. No one (doctors) could figure out why, until I was refered to a dermatologist.
Turns out that if I have to go outside my skin cannot be exposed. At all. I have to be covered at all times (in light clothing, of course), and wear a hat, otherwise I'll end up with hives all over me. It feels weird though... When my skin is exposed to the sun, it feels like someone is seering a cigarette onto my skin. Almost like a burning-pinching feeling.
SPF 70 saved me lol.
Gwen
wow..thanks everyone for sharing your stories.
@EvaBostonTerrier: The ER doc told me to follow up with my pcp about it. I do not have problems with any of those items that you mentioned. Also, I take a multivitamin every day that has niacin in it. That does not affect me either. It was because I took niacin 50mg :)
@julies1949: My symptoms were around for over 2 hours (starting fading at about 2 hours) so not sure why it goes away in 10 minutes for some people.
@helenberrycrunch: Thanks!
@courtbu17: oh my goodness. I am so glad that you are ok...I bet that was scarey
@GwenvonD: oh wow. How old were you when you found out?
@bestbuddies: I was around 24 or 25 years old. But I had the hives on my face for well over a year :( Didn't know how to get rid of them (tried everything) and didn't know what caused it either.
Gwen
@GwenvonD:HMM that is interesting. A good friend of mine has been told that she is allergic to the sun. I somehow spaced on that but just remembered (we have a long distance friendship). She also was allergic for a long time before they figure out what was causing everything. Sorry you have to deal with it...
@bestbuddies:It's not so bad once you get used to it. It becomes second nature :)
I have some pretty weird allergies that cause me to give a lot of funny looks. I'm allergic to nutmeg (fall and winter are definitely NOT my seasons for food!), chlorine in pools, and Jingles hairspray.
@bestbuddies: I got staph infection... on my face : (
it was bad news. anyways they gave me an antibiotic that is sulfa based and within 10 mins I couldn't breathe and had half dollar size welts all over my body. It was quite scary! Then I realized that all my life I would get hives after using lotions and my head was always itchy and it was because I am allergic to the sulfa and sulfates they use in a lot of lotions and shampoos. I have to use sulfa free everything!
i don't have any allergies that i know of, i just came in to say that i giggled at the title of this thread. I was thinking how a honey bee with allergies (such as pollen) would be terribly ironic.
the best thing to do when you find out you are allergic to something is to avoid it as much as possible, if the allergy is only a skin issue like redness and itching then you should keep some benadryl handy it does help and if they allergy is bad enough that your throat will close up you need to talk to the doctor about giving you a prescription for an epi pen. I require both bee stings cause throat swelling and my food allergies always require benadryl and sometimes an epi pen
I am strangely allergic to Sour Patch Kids (a type of candy for those who don't know). When I was younger, I would eat them and get this bright red line down the left side of my face that was warm to the touch. Thought it was a fluke, tried them again, and same thing happened. And again. I eventually just stopped eating them as I was worried it may progress into something more. I've tried for years to figure out what ingredient it is that makes me allergic, but I can't seem to figure it out.
I'm all over the fatal allergies. I'm allergic to rubber. Not just latex (I'm allergic to that too), but natural rubber. Which means elastic, rubber bands, car tires, water hoses. It really sucks. But once you adapt, it's easy to always check for it and live with.
I have a lot of random food allergies. My brother has almost the same ones as me.
When I eat melon, apples, walnuts, almonds, green beans, black berries and cherries my mouth, ears and throat get extemely itchy. Sometimes my lips tingle as well. I've asked my PCP about it and she said any time your throat gets sensitive (itchy), it means there is a possibility of it closing up. I now avoid those foods at all costs. Every once in awhile I'll find something else I'm allergic to....it's no fun.
@miss. eire: oh wow. I bet that was scary! glad you are ok...
@Scorpio88: interesting I have never heard of an allergy to a specific candy only...cool!
@pinkandsparkly: oh wow. that stinks. my throat feels weird and uncomfortable everytime I eat eggs or things with eggs in them. I am probably allergic but I love them so I eat them all the time.... :( maybe I should stop..
@bestbuddies: DH's mom had him convince when he was little that he had all these allergies, (mold, yellow cheese, wheat, eggs, peanuts, malt, and a couple of other things) but he would alway sit around eating Reeses (peanuts), Whooppers (malt), Texas cheese freis (yellow cheese), and pizza (wheat).
I asked him if he was insane. He since will eat all of those things, except the eggs which really do make him sick.
@pinkandsparkly: I had that same reaction to apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, almonds, and walnuts. Cherries were the worst. Usually if something has been heated though, I'm fine.
So my husband and I came home one night after a fun trip to the ER where we found out I had a kidney infection, and he hands me a bottle of juice and he says "drink this, they said vitamin c would help you" and hands me a bottle of his supr high vitamin c juice. I take a sip and immediately feel my throat feel off as soon as I swallow. So I looked at the container and it had cherries and apples and goodness knows what else, that was enough for me. We made an emergency trip to CVS for some benadryl, which eventually took care of the throat tightening, but it was scary. So be careful, it really can go from itchy to throat closing without warning. And FYI, pasturized and flash pasturized are not the same, if heating makes a difference for you too - important lesson learned. :-(
@Scorpio88:can you eat thing like gummy bears and other colored candy? I am wondering if its the dye they use
@bestbuddies:you need to be careful eating the things you are allergic to because I have heard of people doing that when its a mild allergy then one day they eat it and their throat closes up. I dont know if adults grow out of their food allergies but I know sometimes kids do
there was a story on the local news here yesterday where they were talking about kids with food allergies and how they are on the rise all over the country, they had an allergist on there who said its due to the fact that we are living a cleaner lifestyle and our bodies attack proteins and things in the food causing the reaction, it was pretty interesting
I'm allergic to the cold. I break out in hives if my body temp drops. I get them daily on my hands and feet. It sucks but I deal with it. When hubby and I went on our honeymoon we did an aqua seas dive. When I took off my wet suit I had hives covering almost my entire body. I looked ridiculous!!! Luckily its not as severe as when I was little. I used to get hives so bad around my throat in winter that it was difficult to breath.
We are both allergic to so much pollen that we decided on a fall wedding date.
@miss sparkly cat: wow. Yeah, I think I will be brining it up to my doctor at my appt in 2 weeks. You are right...I should not push it...
@june42011: wow..this is a new one I have not heard of.
Some guy I work with is allergic to cocoa! no chocolate for him!
I am glad your going to mention it to your doctor, it needs to be in your medical record so they know they might even want to send you to an allergist to have an allergy test thats how I found out about all of my allergies, be sure to always have some benadryl handy, I keep some at home and in my purse at all time just to be on the safe side
@bestbuddies: I actually think another person on the bee has the same allergy. I think I remember seeing it.
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So I had never had an allergic reaction until the other day (I am 26). I took some B3 (I swear I have taken this before without this) and got what is called "red man syndrome". My entire body was bright red (like a lobster...seriously) and I swelled up and my skin felt really tight. It felt like I had a very bad sunburn. DH and I were in the car and I totally freaked out...it was very scarey. I had him take me to the ER and we went over everything I had ate and drank that day and that is how we found out it was the B3 (apparently B3 is known for this allergic reaction). anywho..I just thought it was crazy. Anyone else have a similar situation?