What Is Red Dye Allergy?
Red dye allergy may seem like a phenomenon because such a simple solution could cause allergic reactions. However, be aware that many snacks and foods for children contain some sort of food dyes that may give negative reactions to some children.
Many parents report that their children have been eating various foods that contain the food dyes that their children develop eczema or indigestion. While some children are only with a specific type of food dye, causing red dye allergy, others react to all kinds of food dyes that can cause anaphylactic reactions, which could be potentially severe.
Different candies including skittles, gummy bears, ice creams, lollipops and artificial cheeses, processed breads and crackers contain food dyes that could cause rashes, swelling, difficulty of breathing and also trigger asthma.
Since it can be an overwhelming task to determine which food coloring could cause these allergies, the only way parents could prevent red dye allergy and other variations of food dye allergies is by reading nutritional labels of every item you buy. These labels are required to list down all products included in the snack, candy or other food products.
The Truth About Red Dye Allergy
Red dye allergy occurs when a child or adult is affected by red food coloring #2, which is also known as cochineal extract or carmine. This type of dye is processed using dried insects, particularly the cochineal bug found in the Canary Islands and South America. According to several studies, the red dye #2 is one of the most common food colorings that causes red dye allergy on children.
Another red dye is known as the FD&C red dye #40, which is used for three purposes – food, drugs and cosmetics, hence the name "FD&C". According to a survey performed by the National Academy of Sciences, the red dye #40 is the most widespread dye used by all ages.
The FD&C red dye is a member of the Azo family of colorants. Almost one million of these dyes are produced each year for various products starting from the first year it was discovered. Accounting to more than half of all the commercial dyes found in cosmetics, drugs and food, the red dye #40 produces different colors once processed.
Although the FD&C red dyes are one of the nine colors approved by the FDA, most of these dyes cause red dye allergy in hypersensitive people. Today, the Allura red from the Azo family is banned from Japan, Sweden, Austria and Norway.
While there are other food dyes that have been noted to cause allergic reactions, the increase of people with red dye allergy and the continuous production of these allergens remain a serious concern among consumers worldwide.
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Comments on What Is Red Dye Allergy?
I have a child with a red dye allergy, and have had problems for many years trying to convince her doctors that it was a serious and REAL problem. This summer when she was scheduled for a VCUG (live kidney xray) she was cleaned with hibiclense, a hospital grade cleaner that is pink and contains red dyes. She immediately got hives and had trouble breathing. They had not began the procedure. It was very scary, they called anesthesiology, and thought she would have to be inubated. This was a SKIN CONTACT reaction, not injested. How do I get people to understand her reaction, and how serious this is? My husband had poo pooed it off until this time in the hospital, but thank God we were there. It is time for the drug companies, and the food companies to remove dyes from our foods, and give us options!
I am 39 years old and i became allergic to red dye at 34yrs old. I have been to every doctor thought of and they say all i can tell you is read the labels! I went to mcv medical college and i am also allergic to annatto. Any one that is allergic to red dye get tested for annatto. It is also a red dye in cheese, cookies ice cream etc. a long list. It is worse than the red dye, but it is supposed to be natural .
You have to watch natural dyes also. I take 40 mg of pepcid every day. it is a hystamine blocker. It helps but not much.
My daughter gets blisters anywhere red dye touches her. We found out about her allergy at a restraunt when she ate red jello. She broke out in hives and then formed blisters and she started to scream–she had blisters in her mouth and down her throat. She also has asthma and is allergic to milk and yellow dye #6. Her birthday is coming soon and to be honest I spend at least 2 months ahead to decide what can be used in place of the dyes to give her a great cake!
I am 26 years old and have had an anaphylactic allergic response to all red and yellow dyes since the age of 16. Which when consumed causes my mouth, and nose to swell. My tongue, throat, and lips begin to tingle and feel itchy and then I know I am in trouble. I then quickly take at least 100mg of benedryl and 25mg every 4 hours afterward for the next 24hours. Benedryl slows the allergic response down and helps an out of control situation become somewhat stable, however my mouth stays swollen for up to two days afterward and tiny itchy blisters form around my mouth about 24 hours after the initial attack. The most terrifying thing that could happen is that while this is happening there is the potential that my airway could completely close up and therefor, I could die. For that reason I always have an Epi-pen ready to use just in case the benedryl does not seem to be working. I have never had to use it though and I am thankful for that as you must call an ambulance right away after injecting it. The latest flare up occurred on Thanksgiving after I drank diet cranberry juice. I am a label reader, however this was just not something I thought would have dye, considering cranberries are very red naturally. I frequently forget that food companies think everything needs more color, and forgetting this often leads to these attacks. For anyone who suffers with this just know that this gets worse with age. When I first began having this reaction the symptoms were not as sever as they are today, and it seems as though each reaction is worse than the previous reaction. Be very careful! Also please see your doctor and have them prescribe the Epi-pen, because even though I have not had to use it, I feel in control of the situation (somewhat) just knowing that if I need it I have it.
My red dye #40 allergy began around the age of 27. Topical red 40 (cosmetics) cause a moderate reaction of facial & eye swelling and redness, but ingestion causes a severe reaction of eyes swelling shut and facial swelling. Antihistimines do not make a difference. It usually takes a minimum of two days for the swelling to completely go away. The reactions began to be more and more severe until I figured out the cause. Luckily, I finally noticed the common thread of red 40, and after a couple of incidents of accidentally ingesting, confirmed it as the source. I have since had to be extremely careful about reading all food & cosmetic labels and avoiding anything that I think might have the dye (especially when dining out).
I developed my red dye allergy at 35 after MANY trips to the emergency room. As all of you know it is always a constant battle and sometimes very painful. My question is if anyone else has severe chest pains with the reaction? It has gotten to the point that if I have a reation it feels like I have a sword piercing my chest and sticking out my back.
As a gerneral comment I still don't understand why brownie snack cakes have to have red dye 40. Oh yeah, I REALLY MISS DORITOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reading this really helped. My daughter has been diagnosed with many allergies. As she has gotten older I have become less watchful letting more of the foods back into her diet. She came home from school with blisters around her mouth, so we went over her meals and snacks for the day. At lunch all week she had been eating red or yellow jello. The blisters were red and painful. I forget even the schools are not knowledgeable about this problem.
I am a 50yo woman who has had severe allergic reaction to carmine and red dye since my teens. Food, make-up, OTC meds – I've had reactions to all of them! It took years to discover precisely what caused my facial itching and swelling. I agree w/Shay above that some doctors do not take this allergy seriously. Thanks to the internet and folks like us sharing info, we can help ourselves, and convince our medical professionals.
I have a 10 yr old daughter who has been diagnosed with an allergy to red dyes. I don't know what to do. Is there any help out there for me? Please contact me.
I have always had a tendency for development of mouth ulcers/canker sores. This has been all of my life and I am now 50 years old. I do know that I cannot take any sort of anti-infammatory RX, to include ibuprofen, any of the Cox-2 inhibitors, i.e. Celebrex, Vioxx; Feldene, they have all caused me to get mouth ulcers. I continue to get them on a regular basis and now believe there is a possibility that red dye is a culprit. Have you ever heard of such a reaction to red dye–causing mouth ulcers? Also, I cannot eat yogurt, particularly strawberry yogurt.
would appreciate any comments!
I just had an allergic reaction to Activia Yogurt. Apparently it has Carmine in it and it causes my eyes to swell shut. I have also had Tropicana Fruit punch and the same thing happened. Some trail mixes also have carmine and It happened to me again with the swelling after I ate something with Carmine in it. It usually takes about 2 days for the swelling to go away completely. Now I will be more careful and now it has been confirmed that I am allergic to Carmine. How gross…why crush a beetle to make a food more red..why can't they add more strawberries in the yogurt to add that red color, or more of some fruit to make the color more red. Sounds like BS to me. Either way, glad I found out the cause of my eyes swelling..now i will read the label more or not eat anything with a bright red color or bright purple, magenta etc…well if I have never had it before..otherwise most likely it has Carmine in it I'm sure!!
Melissa,
The safest thing I can tell you is to steer your daughter away from anything that is not all natural. The labels on food are suppose to call out the dyes used, but some times they will just say "Artificial Colors". Even though we all look at every label closely we still miss it some times and end up with a reaction. Always keep childrens liquid benedryl at hand. I have researched it and even though it has red dye, the antihistamine will help to stop the reaction quick without having to use an epi pen. For worst case, I hope the doctor prescribed her an epi pen.
I am 21 yrs old, and I have had 7 anaphalatic episodes. The doctors can't find out what is causing it. It has happened randomly since i was in 5th grade, and every time I write down everything I have eaten the whole day, and it's always foods I eat everyday. So why does it only happen sometimes? I don't know. But, I have found every time it has happened I have eaten something red; weather it be candy or a drink. I think I'm allergic to red dye, but my allergist doesn't think so. I have had all kinds of tests and nothing comes back as the allergen. I'm so frustrated with it. I just want to know what I'm allergic to so it won't happen anymore.
The same symptoms happen to me as previous people: hives, itchy all over, swollen eyes, nose, throat until I can't breathe. I carry an epi pen, and have used it more than once.
I just want to know if anyone has any ideas of what I can do to figure out what is causing it, or other information about red dye allergies.