you can absolutely be allergic to pork or any other meat for that matter. i am allergic to all land meat and eggs. its not the meat necessairly but the protein that is in it and how the body breaks the particular protein down. dont listen to people who tell you being allergic to anything is impossible, with the human body almost anything is possible. becareful with soups and other prodcuts that one would assume there is no meat in, i just ate vegetarian lentil soup and threw up for hours- it had chicken stock and other chicken stuff in it-

The only things I'm Allergic to are beef and pork, venison, lamb... namely any and all red meat. (Yes, I am aware that pork technically isn't a red meat, but I still get sick.) When I eat these meats I break out in a cold sweat, get sore/achy, vomit, and find difficulty breathing. No, I haven't gone to a speciallist for this because once I eliminated meats (with the exception of poultry and sea food) from my diet, I was perfectly fine.

My question is whether anyone else is allergic to most red meats. I'm seeing lots of pork, but none of the rest?

Rylee, I am definitely allergic to beef and pork. My reactions to them differ slightly but have many common symptoms. I first identified the allergy only about two years ago, though I'd been reacting for the last ten years or so, and it had been increasing in severity. Beef causes anaphylaxis - BP drops, heart races, airway closes up, disorientation, and black out - it was getting scary, and I finally went to an allergist (after being given the runaround by my family doc, who thought it was anxiety attacks).

I had always suspected pork as well, but I'm now positive it is both. The problem is that I do not react "every" time I eat it. It seems to be linked to the amount I eat, and also possibly to how well cooked it is. With the pork, it is mainly just skin rash, itching, etc. (I now have permanent "freckles" all over that are the marks from these recurrent hives). The hives have occurred with beef as well. I have also had problems in the past with some anti-biotics, but I don't know if this is related. Now, the most recent confirmation was actually just last night, when a friend prepared delicious venison steak for my wife and I (partially as a test to see if I could tolerate it). I have eaten venison in the past, but only in stew. This time, BAM. I noticed my sinuses closing up, and my head feeling "tight", and then the itching and welts. If I catch this early, and pop a few benedryl, I can usually deal okay with it. My symptoms don't usually start for several hours after eating the meat. Once or twice it has been within an hour. On one occasion, the episode also created intestinal distress, but usually, it does not.

My question is - do they know what the actual compenent is in the meat that causes the allergy? - since I'm alergic to deer, I no longer believe that it's a man-made additive in the feed.

Keith

I am very interested to find so many others with the beef and pork allergy. I just started to research this on the internet because I am very allergic to beef, pork and other 4-legged meats.

I grew up eating all meats, including organs and feet. In my late 20's after doing a meat fast for 40 days, I began to have the severe symptoms and could not eat it again. I had the ezcema prior to the fast.
I can experience severe intestional distress within 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the accidental source and amount. Beef seems to produce the most dramatic symptoms. I will have cold sweats, a metallic taste in the back of my throat, and diarrhea erruptions that cannot be controlled. I do eat some small amounts of cow milk products normally. I have varying degrees of intestional reactions to milk products, depending on the country I am visiting. I have the skin rashes and erruptions that can follow the events after about 1 week. The pimples that occur are deeper under the skin and are extremely sore. They can appear in odd places like inside my ears, scalp and private parts. It takes about 1 week for them to settle down and they never "come to a head."

I have to be very careful about vitamin supplements like iron that can be derrived from beef or have a meat base. Vegetable iron supplements are available.

I am allergic to pork aswell, I actually have never become swollen or inflamed, but I get a killer migraine from any pork substance, so I stay clear away from pork. A lot of people Ive told say "you cant be allergic to pork", but you really can.

i have been allergic to pork, lamb and beef all my life - if first got ill eating it when weaning .. i spent my early years with tests and exclusion diets, the dr. told my mum it could not possibly be caused by meat!! my mum excluded meat and i got better.. i have not eaten meat since i was 2. there are still alot of drs who dont believe you when you say you are allergic to meat. i used to get very sleepy after eating meat and my temp would rise before throwing up voilently about 8 hours later- once i had been sick i was back to normal - all the time i was being fed meat i was aneamic and had low levels of B12 once i stoped the deficiency resolved. 4 years ago when i went for surgery i was told the allergy need not be noted as it was unimportant!! i tried to explain but the surgeon and aneathistist but they were not listening .... they gave me gelifusin in theater and i had anaphalaxis - then they had to believe me!!

I've know that I've been allergic to pork since I was 3. My Mom had to test me to see what foods I was allergic to! I basically break out with excema. So many people have told me that there is no such thing as pork allergies; but I trust my Mom and because of her, have avoided it all my life. Now that I'm older, I can eat it; but not in excess. I still do not care for most types of pork.

Just for the record, I have the exact same reactions as many have documented. Nichole, what you described is exactly what I have. Upon eating beef:

0-3 hours - no symptoms at all.
4-5 hours - indigestion sets in, feels like the food does not 'go down'.
6-7 hours - hives and diarrhea set in, usually starting around my waist and shoulders. Sometimes my palms itch. I immediately take 1 benedryl and drink two glasses of water to help flush allergens out. The trick is that as soon as you notice that first hive - and you will know - take a benedryl IMMEDIATELY. If you wait, the hives will grow far worse. Sometimes I get the shakes and anxiety.

8 hours - Hives usually slow down, because of the benedryl. If hives continue to grow, I will take a second Benedryl.
10 hours on - usually I am 'cleaned out' and tired. Hives usually go down.

Next day, I am usually cleared of hives, but I will take a claritin for the next few days to help ensure that they do not re-occur. So far, this has worked well.

Other notes: Beef allergies are not always indicated by a skin test - i had no reaction. Insist on an immunoglobulin (blood) test.

I am now developing signs that I am getting allergic to pork.

I have not eaten pork for around twenty years (maybe longer?), until last night. Not because I don't like the taste, but it used to make me sick and it still does! Because I hadn't eaten pork for so long, I thought maybe I had imagined or over emphasised my symptoms so decided a couple of pieces of roast pork loin, along with some of the crackling wouldn't do any harm. I woke in the middle of the night with severe nausea, fast beating heart and now diarrhoea. Eggs also upset my digestive system. Funnily and perhaps significantly, my grandmother could eat neither eggs or pork and my son doesn't eat eggs. Is it a protein intolerance rather than an allergy to the meat?

I have had issues w dairy sense birth but when i hit about 11 i couldent eat meat with out bloating, vomiting, or diahhrea or constipation that lasted days. idk what to do when i told the doctors they sent me to get an upper GI found nothing so they said simply dont eat what makes you sick. But i was hopeing someone had a diagnosis for this cuz iam sick of people thinkin iam just some crazy veg head. i really dident have a choice wether or not to eat meat. please help

These posts have been a blessing!
At the begining of July I had the WORST lower GI pain centerd behind my bladder. Vomited a little diarreah, went to bed and was fine. it happened a couple of other times, couldn't place the issue. Then the hives hit me mildly the other day.
The post regarding the timing has been helpful. These episodes would hit me 2-2 1/2 hours after eating any pork or beef product and it could last for 4-6 hours.

I am thankful for the heads-up on the venison. I will stay clear of that also.

If anyone knows how/why this suddenly happens or has a site link, I'd appreciate the info. My suspicions are all the junk they pump into the animals.

Just an FYI on treating this too...Reiki, even long distance helped me along with holding hematitie stones on my belly or putting on a combination of lavender or lavendin and geranium oil to clam the area and my nerves.

Thought i was nuts also! Carnitine is found n meat/the more red the meat the higher the carnitine, also found n organ meats in high concentration. Figured out long ago i couldnt even touch red meat but thought cooking it made it easier to eat, not so. I took a carnitine supplement at work and had hives,swelling throat, red face, almost went to ER-took a benedryl and got better. Thats when i started checking on carnitine.Just for the record i also have developed ACUTE diverticilitis. This involves SEVERE CRAMPS, BATHROOM TRIPS UP TO THIRTY TIMES A DAY AND DEHYDRATION! Last hospital visit 6 veins were blown due to this! they couldnt take the needle. anyone else know something about carnitine? Aloe Vera concentrate has been miracle antidote! I live on it now! AMAZING RELIEF and results!

I started out allergic to beef around age 34. Then it included pork a couple of years later and every other red meat I have tried. So I gave up all red meat and everything was fine for two years. No more waking up in the middle of night covered in hives, cramping, and bleeding the next day due to the cramping.
Until recently. It is starting again and it looks like Turkey may be the culprit. Will chicken be next? How about all animal protein?

Has anyone experienced this progression?

Please let me know.

Hi all,
I also have the same reaction to pork that many of you are describing. It's a true allergic reaction. To those of you reading this STOP EATING ALL MEAT! You can actually die from allergic reactions. They should be taken very seriously. It's quite easy to live a vegetarian lifestyle. There's lots of great meatless alternatives out there and you can easily get just as much protein and actually lots less calories and fat than with eating meat. (Foreign travel is very difficult though...)

I do have issues with restaurants. They will post things as "vegetarian" on their menus. And after a night of extreme vomiting I'll call the restaurant and speak to the manager and discover, that yes, there was chicken stock in something or something like that. You just have to keep asking the waiter and the manager and explain that you are a vegetarian and have an extreme allergic reaction to all meat or to things that touch where meat is prepared. I recently had a horrible reaction after dropping my guard and trusting the "vegetarian" menu at a restaurant.

It's tough because people do not respect the vegetarian lifestyle. (Which is unfair.) Unless you are prepared to kill these animals yourself and look into their eyes as they die, perhaps you shouldn't be eating them, right? And plus it might kill you to do so. So one meat allergy follows another and my guess is that a biochemist or allergist could point out that if you're allergic to pork, chances are all mammals will cause some reaction. And you can live healthier and guilt-free as a vegetarian if you love animals and pets as well.

Read labels for gelatin, lard and meat additives, always order black beans at a Mexican restaurant, check cheese for vegetarian rennet, kosher or macrobial rennet as opposed to animal rennet. (Some cheese is made by adding enzymes from the linings of animal stomachs. If you're allergic to mammals, chances are the animal rennet in cheese might cause a reaction.)

So try being a vegetarian if you have one meat allergy, you might find your health to be greatly improved!

Hi
This may sound like a silly question, but can you be allergic and/or have reactions to pork but still able to eat bacon or ham??

I identified with many of the posters. I developed an allergy to beef between 12 and 15 years ago. First, I had a severe stomachache after eating a hamburger. This happened again, and, then, the next time I ate beef, I had an extreme allergic reaction. This got worse, and, then, I also had a similar reaction to pork (although my allergy to pork is much less serious). Having no idea that I could be allergic to other meats, I ate a large portion of lamb once, and again had an extreme reaction. After this happened with rabbit, I quit trying any other meats. I have only eaten poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy in terms of animal foods since then.

My symptoms (which, as I recall, begin within one to three hours) on ingestion of meat have been:

First, the insides of my ears start to itch; then, I'll start to itch all over; then, I develop hives, which grow bigger and bigger and cover literally every millimeter of my body; I itch horribly; I swell up; I get cramping and acute diarrhea; I get chills; I vomit; I get dizzy and faint (low blood pressure?); I feel the inside my mouth, nose, throat starting to swell. There may be other symptoms: the episodes are so intense that it is hard to pay attention and remember everything.

The faintness was so severe the last time I had an allergic reaction (apparently to some turkey that was ground in the store using a meat grinder that had previously been used to grind beef or some other meat) that, even though I was having diarrhea, I had to crawl to the toilet without lifting my head and, once there, I had to vomit into a trash can while sitting on the toilet while keeping my head lowered so as not to faint. Not fun and very scary.

Luckily, I had learned to take one or two antihistamine capsules and drink a glass or two of water as soon as I had the first bit of itching. Since the last episode, and being careful to avoid meat, this has kept me from having any severe reactions. I have not had to go to the ER and have not had any allergy tests.

I have learned through several Emergency room visits that I react to Pork. My allergy seems different that the "norm". If I eat pork or items cooked with bacon fat, I experience severe vomiting and diareha as well as something I can best categorize as gastroparesis. My entire GI tract goes deathly still and doesn't start functioning for days. The other thing is a very immediate odor of my breathe. My wife describes it as a bad chemical smell. This is generally my first sign of a reaction. The reaction can be smelled with in minutes.

The unusual thing is that I continue to this day to be able to eat peperoni. I know that it is a cured pork product. Which leaves me unsure if I am allergic to pork or a chemical used in pork. I have not dared to try other cured pork products simply because I don't want to end up serverely dehydrated in an ER.

I don't know if I am a one off case. Is there any safe way to determine what actually is the cause of my reaction?

I have been allergic to milk all my life. I also have what is known as geographical tongue. The milk swells my throat closed (I keep and Epinephrine Pen) Eggs also cause red patches and swelling in the neck region. But what I really came to talk about was the "SORES" I get. I get these red puffy itchy sores all over my back, shoulders, face, and chest. I just recently thought to try a red meat diet. I mean I have tried every other diet on the planet, and I can only remember the sores going away when I was eating just rice, tuna, and apples.

About the sores: They are like pimples in some areas probably due to the excessive grease on the skin, yes my skin gets soooo oily/ greasy when I am having these reactions. But the sores are different, they get to be about the size of a penny, they are swollen and they never come to a head, well sometimes they do, but more often not. The sores itch and peel in the later stages. The reactions take about a week to set in it seems, and can last almost a month. I have not seen a lot of other people describe in much detail about these slower reactions.

It can be tough to nail down a slow food reaction like this. I recommend a very basic diet, such as rice, tuna, and apples like I found relief on in the past. Introducing only one item at a time per week. "boring, I know but it will produce the most results in this type of situation. I am about to start on it in the morning myself.

As a side note: All my doctors over many years have all shrugged off my geographical tongue. I would get minor swelling, patchiness and red rings on my tongue. "AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY" they would say. I personally have noticed that my tongue gets normal when I am allergy free. Wow, a life time of irritable tongue to normal like magic. Not much of a mystery if you ask me. Don't be fooled by trusting the resolve of all your life's health mysteries to the words let roll out of a doctors mouth. They are not God, so they don't know everything there is to know about the human body. They only know what they read in books, and the results of tests and research studies that have been done, etc. If you are the type that comes home with a new sack of pills every time you go to the doctor, it might be time to conduct some of your own tests. Pills are never a good thing for your body unless you can't survive without them (My opinion).

Good luck to all. I hope this post was helpful and entertaining. If you have these sores and wish to correspond with me about them you can contact me at [email removed - against website policy. Please reply on this thread. -ed]

I discovered I have an allergy to pork products when I was 8 or so yrs old. When I would eat it about halfway through I would get a headahce and aches in my neck and joints throughout my body, I get the sweats and chills, I also get nauseas, and I get very tired like it takes something out of my body, I will sleep literally 20 hours after I eat anything that is made with pork.

I am allergic to soya and have recently found that since livestock (especially pigs) are increasingly fed on Soya meal, I am experiencing similar allergy symptoms when I eat Pork and Chicken (especially chicken livers). I am convinced this is linked. Has anyone done studies on the effects of feeding livestock increasingly unnatural stockfeeds like soya instead of corn with relation to the concentration of allergens passing on to us? Food for thought.

I'm really glad I found this page, and the comments have been really helpful. I don't have any severe symptoms - last month I started noticing a flaring of red blotches around my mouth after certain meals, gradually realizing they were meals containing pork. however the biggest blotches came when I ate short (beef) ribs, which devastated and confused me. the blemishes are smaller with things like bacon, but do occur.

interesting now to know that it could be a bone allergy, too - I'd had some soup with a pork bone in it, and had the same flareup. the beef ribs - delicious korean bbq kalbi - had bone of course.

it usually went away when I drank a cup of hot herbal or barley tea as soon as I noticed the blemishes. Unlike the other commenters though, my reactions were instantaneous - literally as soon as I swallowed a piece of pork (i was testing the pork allergy theory) I had a beard of blemishes. my mother told me to just keep eating more and "immunize" or overcome the allergy. I'm glad I chose to dismiss that... ha!

this is interesting stuff. I wonder if this correlates at all to having grown up eating lots of animals, then almost abruptly eating less and less. like I developed a sensitivity or something. I developed lactose intolerance a couple years ago, and I rarely drink milk.

also as a side note, regarding pork vs. bacon: I have a friend allergic to fish, but he can eat canned tuna. he assumed that because it was so processed there was little of the original fish left. maybe its the same with bacon or pepperoni?