Instant itchiness after drinking kava?

[bonz]

Ive got something going on that's new to me.
I'm traveling out of town, and went to a Kava bar I've been to many times. I had one large shell, and immediately had some itchiness that I felt on my face, and then elsewhere. I got some to go and went about my business. The initial itchiness mostly subsided. A little while ago, back in my hotel, I took a swig off the kava I brought home. Man, the itchiness really kicked in. And it's pretty much everywhere. I probably will not consume anymore of this.

Anyone else have this reaction? I have no idea what kind of kava it was. They don't say at the bar. It's fairly disturbing.

 

[kavadude]

Not accusing the bar of this, but I have broken out in hives on 2-3 occasions from drinking no-name kava. Presumably it is an allergic reaction to contaminants (most likely mold) within the kava. I would toss that batch, and take some benadryl if the itchiness is a problem.

 

[bonz]

Yeah, the remainder was not touched again. That's what always worries me about these bars, at least the ones I've been to. No idea what I'm getting.

 

[Blinkyrocket]

Wasn't someone mentioning that some kava bars were adding K/ra/Tom to their kava? Oh-pee-its can cause itchiness.

(I hope what I'm trying to say is understandable)

 

[kavayo]

Wasn't someone mentioning that some kava bars were adding K/ra/Tom to their kava? Oh-pee-its can cause itchiness.

(I hope what I'm trying to say is understandable)

THIS!!! It could be mold but I wouldn't rule out this possibility either.

 

[ThePiper]

If it was "spiked" i presume the effects would be very very different to what a plain ol' kava shell would cause. Unless OP is a new kid on the block, i think he could tell if his kava was blended with a leaf which has entirely different effects. I have heard of people getting hives from certain batches of kava though. It could be from mold or something they are hamdling the kava with

 

[Nirad]

@bonz have you ever taken any "op-pee-its"? I ask because the first time I ever tried the aforementioned spiking agent I became incredibly itchy, and this was only with perhaps as little as an 1/8 of a us teaspoon, which would be hard to taste against the wonderful flavor of Kava. Eventually this goes away as one gets used to it, unless you have something much much stronger. If it was unexpected though, even if pleasant, erring on the side of caution and dumping it was probably best.