For most people, caffeine has been very useful when it comes to deflecting drowsiness, helping people endure long hours of working and studying. Many people feel that caffeine can even boost their confidence and ward off jitters. In North America, about 90% of the adult population consume caffeine in any of its forms—coffee, chocolate, tea, energy drinks, and soft drinks. However, this habit may bring in a number of consequences. Among those is caffeine allergy.

Mechanism of the allergic reaction

Caffeine allergy is one of the adverse reactions of the body to caffeine. The condition develops after being sensitized to the chemical. More often, the major symptoms are mistaken for mental disorders. Several cases have even been misdiagnosed for schizophrenia and the like.

Caffeine is the allergen that causes the allergic responses. Sensitization occurs gradually rather than abrupt. This means that when a person is exposed to caffeine for long periods, there will be a higher content needed to attain the same effects (tolerance) which in turn increases the risk for developing allergy. Like many other drugs, caffeine affects many vital organs especially the brain tissue. But the severity of the reaction varies among patients. The body develops antibodies that are associated with mast cell degranulation releasing chemical mediators of inflammation. As a result, people with allergies may experience any of the following:

• rashes
• itchiness
• angioedema
• throat swelling
• abdominal cramps
• diarrhea
• nausea and vomiting
• wheezing and coughing

However these symptoms are often masked because increased consumption of caffeine intensifies and prolongs epinephrine action thereby masking some of the symptoms. This causes caffeine to accumulate further, acting on the brain tissue to release more chemicals and neurotransmitters and in the long run, causes signs affecting the nervous system such as delirium, dizziness, insomnia, irritability, mood swings, and acute psychosis.

What your Doctor can do for you

Since the symptoms of caffeine allergies encompass both physical and mental aspects, the doctor will attempt to rule out any other conditions associated with the same symptoms. More often, severe symptoms of caffeine allergy are attributed to mental ailments. Blood tests will aid in the diagnosis.
Further studies are underway to determine proper management of this rare food allergy. Currently, the best way to prevent any allergic reaction is to avoid caffeine and caffeinated products.

What you can do

Eliminating caffeine from the diet would be very challenging due to the large number of products in the market containing the chemical. Caffeine can be very addictive, so there will always be the temptation of consuming caffeinated products. For drinks, it is advisable to omit soft drinks, energy drinks, coffee, tea, and coffee flavored drinks—even decaffeinated ones as they also contain small amounts of caffeine. It is safer to drink plain water and fruit juices, although some fruits may also contain traces of caffeine.