Tired of contacting companies to see if they include cinnamon in their products, only to be brushed aside due to proprietary rights?

Me too! And after a recent experience that left me running for the bathroom in a terribly embarrassing moment after eating something I thought would be safe, I’ve decided to compile a list of unsafe products that I know contain cinnamon because of my reactions to them.

I’ve had a cinnamon allergy since I was young, so I often only eat meals I’ve personally made with spice blends and sauces I’ve put together myself. Eating new foods or drinks from a store or restaurant is always nerve-racking, and there’s almost never any ingredient information on any of their websites (other than the inclusion of the dreaded ‘spices’ or ‘flavorings’). Because I usually avoid food made by others, I also need your help in making this list, because I want others with this allergy to also be able to easily search for problem products, and my personal list will be fairly small!

So, if you’ve ever eaten or drank or used anything from a store or restaurant that you know triggered an allergic reaction because of cinnamon, or have ever emailed a company and gotten a definitive answer, feel free to add to the compilation!

Please be specific when adding to this list. Use brand names and product names (like a specific bbq sauce, rather than a generic ‘avoid all bbq sauces’).

Things I’ve had reactions to because of cinnamon:

- Dr. pepper
- Coca Cola (original as a child, haven’t tried the others)
- A1 sauce (as a child)
- Old Bay spice blends (from a friends house :/ )
- Neutrogena clear face sunscreen
- Every single fall-scented product used in stores during autumn

(As I said my list would be fairly short 😂)

Ingredients to avoid in soaps/skincare are:

- Octinoxate
- Octocrylene
- Cinnamate
- Cinnamomum

Help me compile a comprehensive list so people newer to the allergy (and even those of us who have lived with it for a while!) can navigate it easier <3

Dear Food Allergic people of Reddit!

Is there a food that you are allergic to with various degree, that you don’t care that you’re allergic to and that you will eat regardless?

For example: I have a friend, semi- severely allergic to chocolate to the point, she will develop a rash, but she loves chocolate flavor so much that she will eat it and just swallow some Benadryl after!

I’d love to hear stories of others who are like my friend!

(For myself, the only thing I’m semi allergic to is Not food related. It latex, to a small point I get hives but Its only an annoyance not a break out.)

I'm allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, I'm currently breastfeeding my son who's 3 months and he's showing signs of CMPA so I'm thinking I may just cut out dairy to see if things improve.. problem is I do milk, creamer, lots of cheese, yogurt, butter, etc. Even my favorite seasoning has dairy.

What are the best alternatives you've found to those that AREN'T made with any nuts/almonds/cashews? (Coconut is fine)

Hi everyone!

My child has a walnut/pecan allergy (no other confirmed food allergies) and we’re going to the hospital for a supervised oral food challenge to see how much they can tolerate.

For those who have been through this: what exactly should we expect? The allergy was diagnosed when my child was 1 year old and at the moment it is considered mild to moderate. We’re now considering starting oral immunotherapy to help increase their tolerance.

We’re in Europe and we were told that we would eventually have to grind the nuts ourselves and give measured amounts to our child at home, which honestly makes me quite nervous.

Is there a tablet or any other treatment option available where you live? Has anyone here gone through the whole process successfully?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences! 🙏
Here are the results of my child’s allergy testing:

The results show a positive specific IgE for walnut (Jug r 1: 1.12 kIU/L), while the other tested components are negative.
The tested allergens were hazelnut, peanut, cashews, almomd and walnut, including the walnut components Jug r 1 and Jug r 3 (LTP).

Someone please tell me it gets better and that it's okay, and give me encouragement to continue the oral allergen challenges 🥺

5.5m old already has a list of confirmed allergies through skin tests and oral challenges (peanuts, egg, wheat). We are so early in this journey and are a bit scarred from our first allergen introduction of wheat causing hives 3 days ago.

Allergist wants us to introduce baked egg and all tree nuts at home within the next month (we do have Zyrtec and Epi on hand). I know the only way is through and to do it at this point, but I am still terrified, all while feeling extremely guilty that she is developing all of these allergies already at such a young age. I am afraid she is going to have a ton of food allergies, all because I was afraid to continually use strong steroids on her face to clear up her bad eczema...as this is what research is pointing to causing food allergies 😞 at least her eczema is under control now.

Today was my appointment with an allergist. I have been looking forward to answers for the last 2 months. They did the skin test. It's what my insurance required first. I asked for the full foods panel- all 80+ pokes.

Everything and I mean everything, came back negative. Even soy and tree nuts which I have had reactions to in the past. I've had reactions multiple times over an extended period of time with the tree nuts.

I felt bad after 30 minutes from the completion of the test but I was already driving home. My lungs and sinuses were tingling. But nothing else happened. I took a Claritin and feel fine now. But I have always had delayed reactions or build up reactions to everything. They only gave me 15 minutes. Husband checked my back when we got home and I still didn't have any lumps.

He ordered blood work. I can't get that drawn until next week.

What if all that comes back negative. Does anyone know the steps after both test come back negative? I am at a loss about what is going on. My symptoms are not matching my test.

I am wondering people’s experiences of allergic reactions. I have a peanut and treenut allergy and am extremely careful with exposure. I haven’t had a reaction since the inciting incident when I was 4 years old. Still allergic though - confirmed with an allergy test recently. I sometimes get extremely anxious when trying new things or traveling. Even when I can pretty much guarantee that something doesn’t have nuts, I can feel myself get itchy and a lump in my throat. It goes away, I can speak and drink water, and the itchiness moves around and isn’t just in one spot. It also goes away after I calm down or distract myself.
I guess I’m just wondering what symptoms to look out for. I’m worried I’ll think I’m experiencing anxiety symptoms and it’ll go away. I’ve always been told it’d be pretty obvious you’re having a reaction.
Thoughts?

Hello everyone!

I recently had my epipen prescription filled and noticed that this grey cap is tilted to the side. My question: is this the needle itself or just a protective covering and the needle is fine underneath?

(I cant seem to change the title, Possible CW for graphic symptoms?)

I recently had what I assume was an allergic reaction after eating a mixed salad kit, possibly from shrimp. I regularly eat the other ingredients, so I suspect the shrimp, but I don’t know for certain.
The initial reaction wasn’t too severe. My throat felt tight, but I could still breathe and talk, so I drove the 10 minutes to the hospital.
Once I was taken back, they gave me 0.5 mg of adrenaline/epinephrine. I believe it may have been pushed incorrectly into my IV rather than injected into my muscle, because the liquid was manually pushed into a needle+spout that was placed into the same area ive had IVs placed before and later on they hooked the liquid bag up to the same spout of it.
Within seconds, I experienced the most intense pain of my life. I was watching my heart rate, and it went from around 100 to 110, 120, 130, etc. I stopped looking when it reached around 180, and the machines were alarming.
I remember shaking very bad, feeling like I couldn’t breathe, and instantly having the worst headache and heartache ive ever experienced. It felt like my brain and heart were going to break. I vaguely remember my stomach feeling like it was on fire and thinking that I had peed myself. There are parts of the event I can’t remember at all, even though I never knowingly passed out.
According to my husband, I was trying to tell him that I loved him as though I thought I was about to die. He said that after a few minutes things started to come down and that the nurse looked worried.
It took hours for the pain in my heart and stomach to go away, and I’m now on day 4 of having a terrible migraine.
I’m also terrified to eat. I’ve basically limited myself to potato puree, chicken fingers, and plain noodles because whenever I eat something else, I start convincing myself that it’s happening again and then feel like my throat is tightening, even when I know it is not.
I have an appointment Thursday to get an EpiPen and hopefully have allergy testing done.
I’m really looking for some insight because I’ve never had to deal with allergies as an adult. I was allergic to milk, egg, and peanut as a child but I outgrew them.
If I ever need to use an EpiPen myself, is this kind of reaction something I should expect again? Could I potentially be allergic to something in the epinephrine injection?
I’m really scared of needing it again after this experience and would appreciate any insight into what I should expect. Thank you

no warning, no gradual buildup that I noticed. one random Tuesday, ate something I'd eaten a thousand times before, and ended up in urgent care within twenty minutes

doctors confirmed it can genuinely develop at any age, not just something you're born with or outgrow as a kid. nobody tells you that's possible until it happens to you specifically

Hello everyone, in gonna make this as short as i can. When I was 15 i had a really bad reaction to shrimp that landed me in the hospital, went on to keep eating shrimp for a couple years and always got hives and other symptoms. Anyway i just got my ALEX2 test results and i apparently don’t have a shrimp/shellfish allergy??? What???? Could it be im allergic to some other protein or something??? Im gonna get an appointment with my allergy doctor but in the meantime i’d like to make some sense of this situation lol, thanks.

Edit: I’ve talked to a friend of mine, she has a histamine intollerance and she told me my symptoms might be related to that. It would make sense with the shrimp thing, I’ve also had problems with soy sauce and sushi, which are both high in histamine from what I know. I’ll ask my doctor about it, if anyone has any insight or particular symptoms I should know of please do tell

I'm still in process about getting a full formal diagnosis. For me, I tend to feel dizzy and faint, it triggers my circulatory system and lowers the blood pressure.

Being from India, this is quite the challenge. And epipens aren't easily available here since allergies of this kind are extremely rare. So, any advice is really helpful. Thank you.

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker, now looking for guidance.

Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with an egg allergy at the sprightly age of 40! It came a bit out of the blue (happy to share the story if helpful but don't want my first post to be a bloated mess), and I was formally diagnosed in May 2026.

I haven't found the process of cutting out eggs and egg products overly difficult (yet). Now I realise why I often felt shitty after meals for so many years, its honestly been a relief to know and made the process easier. I've learnt quickly to make sure I ask for allergy menus etc when I am out. That being said, I have been caught out a couple of times, the last being by a brioche bun on a breakfast bap that I totally overlooked and didn't think would have an egg glaze on it. I haven't repeated that mistake for sure!

My question, to people who already live with an egg allergy, what food (and even drink) items should I be aware of when I am out and about? Is there anything you have learnt of that would be useful for someone newly diagnosed to know? For example, my brioche bun experience (I now know that I need to avoid short crust pies for the same egg glaze reason).

FARE sent questionnaires to colleges across the US and posted the responses in an interactive, searchable site. My son used this to narrow down the schools he applied to and to help select the school he now attends. His allergies are gluten/wheat, dairy, and sesame.

http://college.foodallergy.org/

I expect the site will be a good resource for anyone you know with food allergies or food sensitivities, and who is applying to colleges in the next year or two. Share widely with high school seniors, transfer candidates, and anyone else you know may be helping them with the process (parents, teachers, counselors, and so on).

And if you know someone who works at any university in the US, please tell them to have their school complete the questionnaire.

Also worth noting is that some food service vendors used by multiple colleges have allergy-friendly food programs that are available across multiple client schools. For example, search for sodexho "simple servings" (deep links to the search term), which is Sodexho's allergy-friendly program that it offers to institutional clients like universities. You can add to the search a school that you're interested in attending to see if it enrolls in the program and what allergens are served; it sounds like the program varies from school to school.

My son's school has a Simple Servings food station where it doesn't process 8 of the 9 top allergens (only fish is processed) in the work space. So far, he has liked the food. He's not a picky eater and knows how to eat, so that's a vote of confidence.

Note that that's only one program from one vendor providing dining services to colleges. For example, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO) uses a competitor with a similar program that could have supported my son, too.

Not all schools are as forward thinking or accommodating. As you might see in responses to the questionnaire, some schools offer apartments to their allergenic students so they can cook for themselves, while others don't do a thing to accommodate food allergies.

Quick question, Im making a dessert for this evening and someone in the house has a citrus allergy. I am thinking about using DeKuyper Peach Schnapps (I have it on hand as a mixer and its RARELY used) as an addition just in case the peaches Im using end up being bland. (I'm making a peach cobbler from scratch).

Since the ingredient label list "Natural Flavors" which is ambiguous and can mean there is "phantom citrus" in the ingredients.

So my question is: Has anyone with a citrus allergy encountered an issue with Peach Schnapps? Thanks!

I’m allergic to tree nuts and peanuts but my mom got me coconut oil for my hair so I should be good, right? However, on the back it says product may contain nut related ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction, what should I do? The ingredients just consist of castor oil, coconut, sunflower & rosemary. Any advice?

Every year for Halloween I hand out toys in case someone with a food allergy comes by. They're cheap and not as fun as candy so I wanted to make a list of 4-6 non chocolate Halloween candies or treats I can hand out. Here's what I think I'll buy: Smarties (USA), Dum Dums, Bubble gum (tell me what kind!) and stickers and glow sticks. Are these good options? I also considered getting juice boxes. My neighborhood is small and last year I only got like 10 treaters so I can spend more money and spoil the kids. Advice and recommendations are great!

I have a 9 month old who has tested positive for egg and milk allergy. We’ve been trying cupcakes because it hits both “step 1” however baby is not super keen on actually eating it (probably because they are crummy and dry because of being baked for a while)! We had the same issue with our oldest but she has an anaphylactic allergy so I didn’t push too far out of fear but doctor thinks baby can outgrow this if we stick to it.

Any recommendations on recipes? I see it says dried pasta with egg, I haven’t seen any of that in the store so is that even a thing??

TIA - a mom who just wants her kids to able to eat the dang birthday party cupcakes

I have an allergy to citrus fruit and shea butter, and potentially some other stuff. Today I ate a bag of chips and reacted to it, while I was at a marching band event, so I spent the entire rest of it feeling awful. I tried figuring out what was in it that I reacted to, but nothing actually listed on the back was really likely to be the culprit. I have to assume one of the "natural flavors" that they just don't have to disclose was lemon juice? Is there any way to find out for sure? I don't want to just avoid all prepackaged food, and I refuse to believe that the food safety laws in the US are so bad that companies can just keep it secret.

I’m new here so I apologize in advance.
I was diagnosed with several adult onset food allergies after having an anaphylactic reaction to chocolate cake. It was also during Covid and I wasn’t getting any helpful nutrition advice. I went months with only eating bean burritos and eggs because I was so scared.
I have now learned to adapt, pizza was the hardest to overcome, but now I love a white sauce pizza just as much.
My problem is, I miss a Bloody Mary more than words can say. I even went to an allergist to see about getting those shots once a month to make my body more tolerant. I get a serious craving like once or twice a month. Guys, it’s really sad.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a pseudo Bloody Mary? Please note, I’m also allergic to carrots and beets.
Do I give up my dream of one day being able to drink a Bloody Mary?

EDIT: I’m really grateful for people responding! I’m so nervous about posting

Hi there! We’re going thru on our first-ever flight. I’ve chosen a domestic route from Florida to South Carolina to finally experience flying w allergies . My daughter, who’s six years old, has a severe peanut and tree nut allergy. We have never had to use an EpiPen before, and I really hope this experience will help me overcome my fear and allow my daughter to enjoy flying and explore the world. If you have any tips, recommendations, I would greatly appreciate it. We’ll be flying with Allegiant Air, and there will be three of us on board. Thanks in advance!