It is possible to have an allergy to ginger. In this case, you may have a food allergy to other members of the Zingiberaceae family including various species of ginger, turmeric, and cardamom.
If you have an allergy to ginger, do not take ginger supplements.
Allergy Symptoms
Rashes are sometimes reported by those with contact sensitivity to ginger.
Eye allergy symptoms have also been reported.
Allergy Treatment
Avoid consuming ginger or ginger supplements.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Allergy to ginger
My wife appears to be allergic to ginger. She has breathing difficulty, sneezing and related reactions. Does anyone have any suggestions or know of treatments for this?
ginger allergy
I’m 17 and i found out a few years ago i have a ginger allergy. I have the same symptoms as you’re wife. Except i can’t be around it at all. My advice would be to maybe get an epi pen just in case she had a bad reaction. Benadryl is good to have too.
My sister has recently developed a severe allergy to ginger after many years of eating ginger.
It is so fatal, that in 3-4 mins, other than the rash, and swollen palms and feet, her throat, tongue and inside nostrils start to swell up, she cant breathe, and if not rushed to a doctor to take an acute allergy intravenus shot, she could stop breathing. We are paranoid, about her being alone and not being able to reach a doc in time, at times. Any suggestions for instant reemedy that she can carry with her? I read an oversmart comment below saying ‘dont eat ginger’ obviously one wldnt eat if it were to kill you, but, it could be fed to her mistakenly whilst eating out etc.
It sounds like she might be getting an anaphylactic reaction to ginger.
If this is the case, an EpiPen would be a good thing for her to carry around.
I would not recommend just going out and buying one. She should see an allergist or at least a doctor to get further guidance to make sure this is appropriate for her, and to make sure she knows how to use it, and the implications of using it.
Hope that helps.
ginger allergy
I to have ginger allergy. I have also found that ginsing causes the same reaction. The only thing I have done is take benedryl when I have been around it, or exposed to it thru the air. Until today, that has worked. Now I have to get shots for this allergy. I am still researching to see what we can do.. So BEST OF LUCK to yall!
Ginger Allergy
I have recently developed a reaction to eating ginger. Within 10minutes it causes severe contractions of my stomach and then my bowels. I end up on the toilet for 2 – 3hrs. I have always eaten ginger – love it. The same reaction occurs for fresh as well as preserved, cooked or uncooked. Could there be anything else that I am eating/taking that could cause this sudden change. The only signficant change is I take 10mg of fishoil a day. Anyone out there that can help.
Ginger side effects
You are not alone! I used to tolerate ginger, but now it causes some pretty instant and awful side effects, with the pill form, the spice alone, or in ginger tea. I have to read labels more closely now, and many products just list “spices” without naming them.
stop eating ginger
stop eating ginger
Home treatment
When my wife gets a rash from touching boiled Ginger or whatnot, she wraps the rash in cabbage or other leafy greens. It is a macro-bioticians belief that cabbage etc has various healing abilities for skin and fevers. Hope this helps someone, Ginger allergy seems rough.
Thanks
Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to try that on my eczema.
Substitutes
Is there anything with a similar flavor that we can use in cooking… y’know… without killing us…??
~tim
try Allspice – it gives a
try Allspice – it gives a similar flavor, especially in desserts, but is from a completely different type of plant, so no allergy problems
ginger make semen bloody
why when i take ginger or cardomom my semen will turn to blood
try lemon grass
I have a ginger allergy but lemon grass (which tastes virtually identical) does not seem to effect me…
Could a Dog be Allergic to Febreze with Ginger?
I used a Febreze Moroccan Bazaar air freshener with contains ginger and noticed my dog pacing around and trying to get away from the smell. I let her outside but later noticed her face looked swollen and she seemed to be sweating on her forehead. I kept her away from the rooms I sprayed and she improved overnight but has not been feeling that great. Can pets take Benadril for allergic reactions?
Air fresheners do the opposite
You’re poor dog is probably reacting to the chemicals and artificial sent in the frebreze.
It’s not good for you either.
There is no reason to use ‘air fresheners’. They only mask the smells, which in turn indicate a problem – mold for example.
So now you have two problems: a health-sapping chemical source, and molds, which can be toxic and allergy-causing.
So now that you’re dog has recovered, ditch the air freshener, and fix what ever problem caused you to feel you needed it in the first place.
As for pets taking allergy medication, best you ask your vet about that.
fabreeze
It was stated when febreeze first came out it was dangerous to pets, especially puppies. Also, dogs can take benadril – dosage depends on the weight of your dog – find this out from your vet. I’ve gave my dog who had allergies Benadril also when she got bit from a bug-spider the suspect. Every animal is different I got the approval/dosage from my vet.
Cardamom
I think I may have a sensitivity to cardamom. I just drank some Shah hawaash (a Somalian tea) and within a few min I developed a horrible headache and my face was flushed. I have had a similar reaction to some Chinese food, and always chalked it up to a shellfish allergy ( I am allergic to clams). Now I am wondering if it could be the ginger. I also have the same reaction to large amounts of fennel.
I think I may have an allergy to giner, but Im not sure. I have been cutting up raw ginger and putting it into boling water, then drinking it. I am getting headaches and a cough. Anyone agree its the ginger or could it just be sinus’s?
I too get a dry throat and get a cough from ginger.It is the ginger in my case.