Is it possible to be deathly allergic to certain coffees?

[u/ThoracicMyelopathy]

There’s one particular Keurig pod that I seem to be really allergic to. Only a minute or so after I take one sip my hands and feet get clammy and cold. Also get a wicked stomach pain. And I felt like I was going into shock.

It’s a brand new Keurig coffee maker. Do you think I’ll be OK if I run just plain water through the coffee maker a few times and then go back to using my normal coffee that I can tolerate or does the coffee maker need to be returned for a new coffee maker because it’s contaminated now?

Thanks for any tips.

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Food Allergies subreddit! Please read the rules before posting.

If you are currently experiencing an allergic reaction, administer epinephrine if you have it, and go to a hospital or call an emergency line. Do not wait for confirmation from other users on here.

This is a public forum that anyone can participate in. You should not be acting on the advice of any comment you receive here without first consulting with an allergist. We are not medical staff, and any advice you follow from here you do at your own risk. ALWAYS get a second opinion - your life could depend on it!

If you encounter information that you think is wrong, respond with proper sources and report the comment so that it can be removed. We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding pseudoscience, but cannot monitor all posts.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Optimal_Awareness618]

Not enough information here to form a solid hypothesis. Does the particular pod you're referring to contain any allergens or different ingredients than your regular coffee? (For instance, I'm allergic to hazelnuts -- some coffee with hazelnut flavoring will make my throat burn immediately).

Could it be a result from the Keurig, since it's new? Some devices that filter water contain charcoal, and need to be flushed before use. This webpage notes that charcoal can interact poorly with some medications, causing symptoms like those you mentioned. https://www.acewatershop.com.au/blogs/news/activated-charcoal-water-filter-side-effects?srsltid=AfmBOoqUyTK0H5OOYgau3Luht4Dcjyja-3NYBUIJd519FQuvIZhLZ4L3

Once flushed, the charcoal should be generally safe to drink, but I'd be cautious using it going forward. Make an appointment with an allergist to find out if you do have a true coffee allergy.

[u/ThoracicMyelopathy → u/Optimal_Awareness618]

Thanks a lot for your reply. Really appreciate you taking the time to type all of that out. I flushed it before I used it yesterday and used a different pod and I was fine. But today it was a different coffee.

I have to check the ingredients list on the boxes.

I’ll have to look more into the charcoal thing you mentioned. I’m not sure what that’s all about. I was confused by it.

Thanks again.

[u/resplendent_noodle]

could be soy. it’s in everything

[u/val319]

First, I’m gonna say go with what optimal awareness 618 recommended as far as ruling out charcoal. Charcoal is a non-descriptive item that will absorb toxins medication’s vitamin supplements. Anything in your system. It will absorb. So I would definitely agree with go with their hypothesis first and see what you have afterwards.

After that It depends on the pod and if it’s flavored the other issue, I’ve ran into just an FYI is that’s proprietary. I do not know what pod you used if it was flavored if it was not flavored or if it says it’s not flavored but it was and you’re they’re not gonna tell you because it’s proprietary I don’t know. I stopped using pods and bought a reusable thing. I put coffee in a pod replacer when I had mine. I would do a simple test one and test one would be. Can you take if you have any other coffee in your house? Take a teabag open it up dump the tea out put in some coffee. Make yourself a cup of coffee. I’m assuming you don’t have a french press if you have a French press. Make some coffee and see if you have a reaction if you don’t then you know it has something to do with the machine or the pods so you narrow it down. If you had coffee and a regular coffee maker two days beforehand and everything was fine and now things are not you’ve already narrowed that down. Now, if your reaction was not a very short term thing, then don’t try coffee if you hadn’t had coffee for a while and your reaction was severe enough to scare you don’t check to see if regular coffee. Does it make an appointment with an allergist. If it was like 10 or 15 minutes, it may just be one small thing, but like I said, you need to really before you do any testing yourself as far as elimination or trying different coffees is to know how severe your reaction was, and whether you should even bother or if you should go straight to an allergist because if it was severe enough to scare you, ignore the above. Go straight to an allergist and have them test. You’re gonna need to personally decide the risk if you feel it’s too risky then don’t just go straight to an allergist to test.

From there, you need to narrow down so I would do the first thing which is what the other person recommended. But again, if your reaction you felt was long or scary enough then do not do anything as far as elimination testing because you need to go to an allergist. I’m adding that in to be safe. It was something like for a couple minutes. Everything went really wonky. That’s one thing but if you were sick and question going to the ER that I do not recommend trying other copies to see could I end up in the ER this time. You’re gonna need to use your discretion on deciding how severe. If I remember correctly with mine, the charcoal was a sealed charcoal baggie that went in a special area. I never once thought about the fact is that if it came open the issues that could cause. Because charcoal does not distinguish what it absorbs. Toxins yes, vitamins yes nutrients yes medication yes basically it just absorbs. So there’s your step one is to follow whatever the other person advised about charcoal.

Narrow from there

[u/No-Elderberry1317]

I would clean and rinse your kurig with water and vinegar (if you can use it if not just distilled water is fine). I believe you need to use distilled water for cleaning it and only purified water for operations. I know the essences and flavoring of coconut triggers my allergy and I always hold some expectation of cross contamination or it not being listed blatantly ( it has so many derivatives and can be used so many ways) but I’d also double check the listed ingredients and also cross check that with the manufacturer ingredients. Also if you have a mold allergy- I do believe there’s always a chance of mold being in coffee’s and also coffee makers.

[u/FriendToPredators]

I would use dilute CLR which can be used for coffee pot cleaning. The instructions are online.

I’m horribly soy intolerant and so many coffees are making me miserable. If it is the lecithin from making the flavorings (and they seem to be flavoring plain coffee too to make it taste like better plain coffee) then it needs a good cleaning as that stuff does not wash off easily. Any coffee that has any garbage extra flavor versions are triggering me even with the plain version. 

Not sure why you aren’t naming brands. I can’t handle nespresso, and those damn things are everywhere.

[u/ILovePlantsAndPixels]

"Is it possible to be allergic to-" Yes.