Caffeine Allergy

Have you heard about caffeine allergy? According to scientific studies, caffeine allergy or intolerance to caffeine affects many people worldwide.  However, many are not aware of this condition and may blame the symptoms of caffeine allergy to other factors.

What is caffeine allergy and how does a person acquire it?  The cause of caffeine allergy is often related to substance abuse and tolerance.  As a person’s caffeine intake increases, his tolerance to caffeine does too.  As a result, excessive caffeine in the body can bring about allergic reactions to caffeine.  Thus, when a person with caffeine allergy takes in even just a small amount of caffeine, the substance is rapidly absorbed by the nerves and organs in the body and will trigger the disorder.

Physically, caffeine allergy attacks bring about anaphylactic symptoms like chest pains, hyperventilation, heat palpitations, tightness of the throat and difficulty breathing.

However, unlike other types of allergies, caffeine allergy can be considered as one that adversely affects the mind rather than the body. 

Caffeine acts like a poison that when ingested, targets cells and neurons directly.  In turn, the body releases excessive amounts of chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline causing repulsive reactions.  When these chemicals are released at the right time and at just the right amount, they help a person stay alert, active and in high spirits.  However, on excessive levels, it results to repulsive behavior. 

Symptoms of caffeine allergy include dizziness, restlessness, mood swings, inability to focus, over-excitement, agitation-just to name a few.  In fact, a person with severe caffeine allergy may experience, delusions, mania, frantic behavior and other symptoms that closely resembles mental disorders.  Due to these symptoms, caffeine allergy can be mistaken as depression, obsessive compulsive, schizophrenia, attention deficit order (ADD), manic depressive or bipolar disorder.  Clearly, caffeine allergy is a very serious condition that needs attention.

Caffeine is found not just in coffee, but in soft drinks, chocolate, tea and decaffeinated coffee as well.  Although the caffeine content of decaffeinated coffee may have been lessened, the process is not capable of eliminating the substance from coffee.  For this reason, people who are diagnosed with caffeine allergy should exercise intense caution when it comes to food and beverages.  A small amount of caffeine ingested in the body can instantly trigger caffeine allergy symptoms. 

Physicians and doctors are still conducting studies on the detection and treatment of this particular substance allergy.  Hopefully, these medical experts would be able to discover new ways of helping people with caffeine allergy more effectively.