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Kava Physiology Mild kava allergies?

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
Well, I'm beginning to think I might have some level of allergic reaction to kava :(

It doesn't happen every time I drink kava, but sometimes, an hour or so after the start of my session, I get red and itchy eyes, nasal congestion, and a flush feeling of my face with slight visible reddening. It's never caused any rash, itch, etc. but it is a bit annoying. Has anyone had similar reactions? Any suggestions for how to keep drinking kava while mitigating these types of reactions? It happened to me during this evening's session; just popped an Allegra (fexofenadine), will see how it goes.
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
It should be noted that I am also prone to seasonal allergies. My seasonal allergy symptoms are usually mild enough I don't need to regularly take antihistamines, just on high pollen days.
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
An update - today I had a session with a mix of Mo'i and Palarasul and I didn't have any allergic-type effects, except *maybe* a slight increase in eye irritation/itchiness. But it could be placebo too. Pollen is high right now in Seattle so I've been taking fexofenadine for the past few days and still have been dealing with a bit of allergy-eyes even without kava.
 

INeedToChill

Stay Golden, Ponyboy
Oh honey :( It must be awful to find out your body is betraying you by being allergic to Kava. My nose always gets drippy when I drink Kava, but I assumed it was just the warmth of the tea. I hope the allergy medicine helps! ::KavaChug::
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
OK I have a new theory: I don't think I'm allergic to kava, but I think kava dries my eyes out, causing them to produce less tears which means when pollen levels are higher, my eyes get itchy and red, and outside of allergy season it's no problem. This would explain why only recently have I started to notice this (it's allergy season now), and my "allergies" don't seem anything like the usual kava allergies from the thread @Henry compiled awhile back (skin itch, rash; I've definitely not had any hint of this from kava).

I'm going to try to put some eye drops in ahead of my next kava session, and see if it makes a difference.
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
OK I have a new theory: I don't think I'm allergic to kava, but I think kava dries my eyes out, causing them to produce less tears which means when pollen levels are higher, my eyes get itchy and red, and outside of allergy season it's no problem. This would explain why only recently have I started to notice this (it's allergy season now), and my "allergies" don't seem anything like the usual kava allergies from the thread @Henry compiled awhile back (skin itch, rash; I've definitely not had any hint of this from kava).

I'm going to try to put some eye drops in ahead of my next kava session, and see if it makes a difference.
You can find a few threads if you do a search on how kava dermo can strike the eyes. For me I would get red itchy eyes and styes that were quite painful and required hot compresses to get them to pop. I now can feel pretty early on if a strain is going to aggravate dermo on my face (vs. just body or hands) and I will limit my intake of that kava if it is one I like.
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
I have definitely been getting some light dermo on my face. Some dry and slightly flaky skin on my cheeks and below my eyes. I've been using coconut oil over the area as a moisturizer. But yeah, pretty sure now that dermo, and not kava allergies, is what I'm dealing with. I notice that sometimes the morning after a kava session, my eyes are extra dry and red too. Might have to take a break for a week or two and let things clear up a bit.
 

avahZ

YAHWEH Shalom
I was fortunate when I started kava back in 2014, I would have what appeared to be a small reaction to kava. Itching eyes, running nose, etc. It did eventually go away. I do drink a small amount each day. I will on occasion have a nice Weekend session with the wifu. That being said don’t take a potential allergy lightly. My son has peanut allergies (ugg) and the wifu has milk and caffeine allergies that could put them in anaphylactic shock. It never has, but we don’t chance it. Know the symptoms of anaphylactic shock and be careful.
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
I was fortunate when I started kava back in 2014, I would have what appeared to be a small reaction to kava. Itching eyes, running nose, etc. It did eventually go away. I do drink a small amount each day. I will on occasion have a nice Weekend session with the wifu. That being said don’t take a potential allergy lightly. My son has peanut allergies (ugg) and the wifu has milk and caffeine allergies that could put them in anaphylactic shock. It never has, but we don’t chance it. Know the symptoms of anaphylactic shock and be careful.
Did you do anything in particular to get the reaction to go away? Or did it just subside on its own over time? Because today I definitely had a bit of a reaction, similar to my seasonal allergy symptoms (nasal congestion, increased mucus, itchy eyes - though the eye drops helped keep the eye itch pretty mild). I'm thinking I might try an immunotherapy sort-of thing for a while, having a tiny amount of kava every day or few days and slowly upping it. Because I really don't want to have to stop drinking kava.
 

avahZ

YAHWEH Shalom
I just too
Did you do anything in particular to get the reaction to go away? Or did it just subside on its own over time? Because today I definitely had a bit of a reaction, similar to my seasonal allergy symptoms (nasal congestion, increased mucus, itchy eyes - though the eye drops helped keep the eye itch pretty mild). I'm thinking I might try an immunotherapy sort-of thing for a while, having a tiny amount of kava every day or few days and slowly upping it. Because I really don't want to have to stop drinking kava.
I just kept using it and taking a zertec for my regular seasonal allergies. I guess my body got used to it. It effected me more like seasonal allergies not like a food allergy. If you are getting food allergy like symptoms, you may have to quit. I remember one guy back in *I believe* 2016 on here who got hives or some other food like allergy reaction. He ended up quitting kava.

For me, I will use a small heady amount in my morning coffee. It’s not enough to get a buzz like effect, but they do enhance each other. This is prolly what keeps mine suppressed.
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
Well this is really weird. After having had smooth and problem-free sessions for awhile, my yesterday kava session seemed to trigger a histamine-type reaction again. (Nasal congestion, eye irritation, facial flushing) This is really frustrating. :(
 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
I found this study which found that aqueous kava preparations, but not isolated kavalactones, can cause mast cell degranulation in vitro. I wonder if this is coming into play, and what might influence why some sessions, and not others, seem to trigger a response.

 

Mo'iety

Kava Enthusiast
No dietary changes. Possibly extra stress; I was feeling a bit of extra stress yesterday (which is partially why I went for the kava) but not too much. I am also prone to allergies and chronic nasal inflammation from pollen which I manage with antihistamines as needed. Never been tested though so I'm not sure if it's truly an IgE- or IgG-mediated allergy, or a sensitivity mediated by another mechanism. I'll probably take another short break from kava and experiment with adding more quercetin-containing foods to my diet since I've read that quercetin has antiallergenic and mast-cell stabilizing effects. Then experiment with adding the kava back.

I also noticed that the few times I have had similar reactions from a kava session tended to be on days when my pollen allergies were more aggravated already. But they weren't bad yesterday.
 

hightides42

our Roots run deep
Is this only happening with KWK Samoan?

fwiw, we've gone through 2 lbs here (w/2 more on the shelf) and really like this one as a mellow calming variety, also feel it mixes very well with heavies and balanced/heady varieties. Only thing I've noted about it being different is how dark it is (drink color, traditional prep)
 

Skinskava

70-80 g to 1 Liter-Day Dreamer- My Roots Run Deep-
I had this happen last summer multiple times which led to me taking many months off kava. It occurred with kavavieds lapita I believe. I haven't touched that since and I haven't had a problem in nearly a year. I hope it's just a rare occurrence with the particular variety ur drinking and not an allergy that lingers and forces you to avoid kava. I have bad allergies currently and haven't had a problem. In the mean time try fish oil gel tablets and have coconut oil in the morning before an evening session and once again after. This has seemed to help me. I use to note insect bites would also look different while drinking kava lapita and my eyes would be red and hurt.
 
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johnwiki

Newbie
I have been facing similar issues with kava and wanted to add to the limited information already out there. I find it works fantastic for anxiety issues, so I would like to be able to continue use it. Previously i started with capsules and there was not much effect - i never had any adverse 'allergy' type of reaction to the capsules, however the effect was not great compared to real instant kava.

When i finally purchased instant kava, I used it (probably almost to excess) over about a week or two. At the end of the final week, I had been sunburned (this may be important), and decided to drink a large amount (multiple tablespoons) of kava that evening. This is when i first noticed itchiness and flushing of the face, but i did not guess that kava could be the cause at the time. The next morning i awoke with a red swollen face, dry skin, and itchy hives which developed in most parts of the body (chest, face, arms legs). This sucked! I barely felt capable of doing anything... I researched online about similar reports of 'allergic' type reactions.

I took a break from kava and took antihistamines (cetirizine) with plenty of moisturiser to try reduce symptoms and it had pretty much subsided within a few days of stopping. I decided to try kava again, and i continued to use it every second day in smaller doses ( 2-3 teaspoons per night). This significantly improved symptoms - i still had dry skin and occasionally an itchiness not long after ingestion of kava, but symptoms were mild and manageable in comparison.

I took a break from kava as i had none left and went away on a weekend trip. I got back yesterday and found the kava had been delivered. I ended up using 2-3 tablespoons to test the effect, and throughout the night as i consumed more, the itchiness and swollen red face started returned!! I used moisturiser, took an antihistamine and made sure i was well hydrated before bed. This morning i did not have hives, but just a slightly swollen face which has been slowly fading. This is the second worst reaction I have had to kava... and i found it interesting that I had also been sunburned before this time too.

just some food for thought about why this may occur based on my experiences:
1. kavalactone content... the highest amount i consumed gave me the worst symptoms... and since cutting back symptoms faded...
2. Perhaps a combination of sunburn and kava is more likely to set off reactions like this? (both my worst reactions happened while still feeling sunburned)
3. Or perhaps dehydration?

And yes, my kava is noble grade and sold at pharmacies.
If anyone has more information about avoiding this that would be fantastic!!
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
I have been facing similar issues with kava and wanted to add to the limited information already out there. I find it works fantastic for anxiety issues, so I would like to be able to continue use it. Previously i started with capsules and there was not much effect - i never had any adverse 'allergy' type of reaction to the capsules, however the effect was not great compared to real instant kava.

When i finally purchased instant kava, I used it (probably almost to excess) over about a week or two. At the end of the final week, I had been sunburned (this may be important), and decided to drink a large amount (multiple tablespoons) of kava that evening. This is when i first noticed itchiness and flushing of the face, but i did not guess that kava could be the cause at the time. The next morning i awoke with a red swollen face, dry skin, and itchy hives which developed in most parts of the body (chest, face, arms legs). This sucked! I barely felt capable of doing anything... I researched online about similar reports of 'allergic' type reactions.

I took a break from kava and took antihistamines (cetirizine) with plenty of moisturiser to try reduce symptoms and it had pretty much subsided within a few days of stopping. I decided to try kava again, and i continued to use it every second day in smaller doses ( 2-3 teaspoons per night). This significantly improved symptoms - i still had dry skin and occasionally an itchiness not long after ingestion of kava, but symptoms were mild and manageable in comparison.

I took a break from kava as i had none left and went away on a weekend trip. I got back yesterday and found the kava had been delivered. I ended up using 2-3 tablespoons to test the effect, and throughout the night as i consumed more, the itchiness and swollen red face started returned!! I used moisturiser, took an antihistamine and made sure i was well hydrated before bed. This morning i did not have hives, but just a slightly swollen face which has been slowly fading. This is the second worst reaction I have had to kava... and i found it interesting that I had also been sunburned before this time too.

just some food for thought about why this may occur based on my experiences:
1. kavalactone content... the highest amount i consumed gave me the worst symptoms... and since cutting back symptoms faded...
2. Perhaps a combination of sunburn and kava is more likely to set off reactions like this? (both my worst reactions happened while still feeling sunburned)
3. Or perhaps dehydration?

And yes, my kava is noble grade and sold at pharmacies.
If anyone has more information about avoiding this that would be fantastic!!
I am not aware of any noble kava sold in pharmacies, or any kava sold at all at pharmacies for that matter, are you referring to a capsule form of kava?

It sounds like overconsumption and lack of proper hydration.
 

johnwiki

Newbie
Hi there krunky, thanks for your reply. Fijikava has been a recent addition to pharmacies in NZ.
And I think you were probably right... I have now read a few reports of over-consumption giving people similar symptoms to what i described. The past week I have used daily but in moderation - no issues whatsoever. (in fact my skin is more clear than ever - reduced acne). All is well, stoked i can continue using this great herb :)
 
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