Allergy to Cinnamon

I believe my 8 month old infant may have an allergy to cinnamon. At a minimum, it is a skin irritant to her. She has had small amounts of cinnamon in pre-packaged baby food over the last couple of months with no adverse reactions. This morning I added 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon from my spice cabinet to her oatmeal. She is a messy eater, so she had oatmeal and cinnamon smeared all over her face within minutes. Before she finished eating, the lover half of her face became flushed, and her lips became red and puffy. There were no other obvious symptoms. I immediately called her pediatrician, who "reassured" me that cinnamon allergies are extremely rare, but had me give her Benedryl as a precaution. The redness had already started to dissipate on its own by the time I gave her the medication. Approximately 30 minutes later, there appeared to be no remaining symptoms. The doctor has recommended that I wait 2 weeks, and then give it to her again to determine if the cinnamon is actually the culprit.

i have allergies to all nuts.this year for the first time i started to react to spiced wine, spice cake and pumpkin pie. after reacting to a cinnamon roll, i realized it was the cinnamon that was causing the reaction. my throat constricted and i had difficulty breathing.

I am very interested to hear if anyone else has had a child with a reaction to cinnamon. My daughter has had cinnamon in things in the past (baked goods), but yesterday after having some cinnamon powder directly sprinkled in applesauce, she had the same reaction as Tushanna mentioned; swollen lips and red bumps where any applesauce touched on her face. It also disappeared within 15-30 minutes. My doctor was suprised to hear that she had such a quick reaction. I am concerned about giving it to her again for fear that the reaction would be worse next time such as difficulty breathing. I am not sure I would want to test it!

We just related my daughter's shortness of breath to her consumption of a single cinnamon Altoid although we haven't verified her allergy yet.

I recently gave my 21 month old toddler applesauce and sprinkled cinnamon on it. She was shirtless in her highchair. She dipped her finger in the cinnamon and put it all over her stomach and arms. Within minutes she had about twenty incredibly red spots every single place she had dabbed the cinnamon on herself. Does this mean that consuming cinnamon could be harmful as well? Does a contact dermatitis remain a skin issue only, or could this develop into a serious issue?

I just made snickerdoodles with my two-year-old. He focused on getting the cinnamon-sugar into his mouth, smearing lots across his cheeks. His cheeks are now very red, though not bumpy. He eats cinnamon all the time - almost every day in his oatmeal - and has very regular, firm stools, so it seems to just be contact dermatitis and not a gastrointestinal problem, although I'll probably cut it from his diet now.

I am allergic to cinnamon by eating it and just by the smell of it. I will get a migraine that will last for a couple of days.

I have a severe cinnamon allergy which causes me to have to carry an epi-pen. I get severe respiratory constriction, swollen tongue, and eyes just from the smell, especially if it is cooking or baking. It is really difficult around the holidays.

My 23-month old also gets red anywhere cinnamon touches her face. Have made the final determination this morning after sprinkling it on her oatmeal and seeing red wherever it stayed on her face (my husband and I have suspected this for several months and have stopped giving it to her, then tried again). Will discontinue giving it to her and will ask the doctor about it at her 2-year appointment. Interesting to see that others have had the issue as well. Wondering if it has a topical "burning" affect, but also wondering (as previous writers mentioned) if there is any consequence from ingesting it. Also wondering if the other babies affected are more fair-skinned as our daughter is. She is a bit more sensitive to certain things because of this. Thanks all!

I have a 3 yr old daughter who was making cinnamon ornaments at preschool and ended up with red spots on her arms. My daughter is very fair-skinned. This was the first experience we've had with something like this.

I have an allergy to cinnamon which causes me to carry an epi-pen at all times and constantly ask servers if food items have come in contact with or contain cinnamon. At the beginning stages of my allergy I would develop cold sores several days after eating food containing the spice. Recently, the allergy has grown to include a closing of the throat, abdominal pain, and a warm feeling in my face shortly after consumption. The cold sores still appear which is my proof that cinnamon was consumed. I have found that the longer the sympotms last the more sensitive I become. The smell of cinnamon used to not bother me, now I smell it cooking or used as a garnish and I get a tingling sensation in my mouth and my tounge feels like it is swelling.

My 17 month old daughter is also fair skinned. She never has a problem eating foods with cinnamon in them, baby foods, yogurt, etc. But a few months ago she had cinnamon apples that were very cinnamonny, and then a week later, french toast with a lot of cinnamon. Both times she had a rash exactly where the cinnamon touched her face, (but not on her hands) with no other reaction. As soon as I wiped her face and hands, the rash began to disappear. I am also wondering if this is just a case of a skin sensitivity or the beginnings of a severe allergy. My 3 year old daughter has a peanut allergy, by her symptoms are the same, just a rash, and she also has fair skin.

I have been allergic to cinnamon all my life. But up until 3 weeks ago, it was just a minor irratant.
I know I can't have certain foods, or I break out with a rash or hives; depending on the dose of cinnamon I come in contact with. I avoid retail stores of any kind, after Halloween- because of the cinnamon candles, and poporri.
But now, the boss decided to sell cinnamon rolls. I was getting very high doses of cinnamon on the nights I worked! I not only got the hives, but I had a hard time breathing! I had blisters on my tongue, and my throat started to swell shut! I am now taking Benadryl to help me not break out. But it has been 3 weeks, and I am still breaking out!
I thought I was the only one allergic to cinnamon!

moojb akvew

I found this by doing a search for "cinnamon allergy" on google. Recently, I was feeding my 14 month old son some cooked rice with milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Within five minutes of eating, he had a red, inflammed "moustache" where the milk had touched his face. I couldn't figure out what was going on, and even after wiping his face and rinsing it, the "rash" didn't go away for well over an hour.

I figured it was the cinnamon, since he's not allergic to milk, rice, or sugar. I told my husband about it, and he mentioned that after letting my son smell a bunch of candles the other day at the store, his face was getting red and swollen, and he didn't know why. Now, after reading all of these other anecdotes, I'm pretty certain it is in fact a cinnamon allergy. Now I just need to find out if it's just contact dermatitis or of ingesting it is harmful to him.

I hope he outgrows this allergy. :(

Now age 53, I have been allergic to cinnamon at least since being allergy-tested in my teens, though it was only a mild (+1) allergy. I could take it small quantities with no effect, maybe a stuffy nose.
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I know exactly when my body went ‘over the edge’ in tolerance. In my late 20’s, I was making French onion soup for a dinner during Christmas season. I had a collection of votives, probably over 30, which I’d filled with cinnamon-scented candles. I lit them all to keep the onion smell from overwhelming my home. In about ½ hour I became dizzy, lightheaded, and having trouble breathing. ---------------------------------------------paragraph--------------------

Lying down in the bedroom away from the candles, I called my mother. While we were trying to figure out what was wrong with me, I mentioned the candles, thinking they were probably “imitation”. She said, “Haven’t you heard of cinnamon oil?” The candles had liquified, and I had gassed myself nearly to unconciousness. ---------------------------------------------paragraph--------------------

Since then, can’t tolerate breathing the vapors of cinnamon. This is much worse than eating it, as it goes immediately from lungs into blood. As others mentioned, I can’t go into many places during the holidays, or even year-round, that have wreaths, popourie holiday punch or grogg, scented candles, etc. ---------------------------------------------paragraph--------------------

I can’t be in an airport near Cinnabon. If my gate is nearby, I have to leave the area until boarding or I’ll pass out. The doctor told me I might lose conciousness, but would not go into anaphylactic shock - small comfort when traveling alone – not sure I believe it totally! ---------------------------------------------paragraph--------------------

In fact, airline travel is the scariest for me. One time a flight served breakfast of cinnamon toast. I had to hide in the bathroom with wet paper towels over my face, and was sick for 2 days after landing. Now that the airlines are not even feeding people any more, and allowing all kinds of prepared food to be brought aboard by passengers, my nightmare is being stuck in my seat on a full plane next to a hot Cinnabon consumer during boarding, taxi and takeoff. ---------------------------------------------paragraph--------------------

Many of the foods which surprised me having cinnamon have been mentioned, but I will recap.

_____ All kinds of deserts, especially those with fruit or chocolate (yes, chocolate!). You’ll find even the graham cracker crust in gourmet cheesecake has cinnamon. And restaurants can’t always tell you if cinnamon is in their desserts, either they buy it prepared, or the pastry chef has gone home for the day. I’ve yet to find a single Mexican restaurant desert without cinnamon.
_____ Every box of cereal on the shelf with fruit in it, except perhaps plain raisin bran – some list cinnamon, some say “natural flavors” or simply “spices”
_____ chili
_____ pizza – since most fanchise brands use ‘corporate’ prepared sauce, and ingredients are a secret, you can’t find out
_____ spaghetti sauce or ANY red sauce including Italian, Cajun, BarBQ on grilled meats
_____ szechuan sauce – in supermarket and from oriental (Chinese, Thai) restaurants
_____ baked beans
_____ anything Indian or curry
_____ soups
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For a while, it seemed that cinnamon added to ‘unexpected’ food was some kind of fad among chefs. I hope the novelty is wearing off, but now it seems to be on the increase in supermarket food.

The award for most outrageous use of cinnamon by ‘artistic’ food preparer goes to a restaurant/bakery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I ordered a personal quiche of the day, which was Quiche Lorraine, a recipe I’m intimately familiar with, containing bacon, swiss cheese, egg, etc. When this steaming crock was placed under my nose, someone had generously sprinkled cinnamon all over the top, which immediately sent me running, reeling with dizziness and seeing spots, for the outside door! Lesson: be prepared for anything, and if any doubt, tell your waiter about the allergy before food is brought to the table. Tell them you’d hate to ruin their day by passing out on their restaurant floor.

Gloria, (comment 16) yes, I totally know what you're saying; it was like reading my own diary.

I first found out I was allergic to cinnamon when I was 14. I was in home economics with a friend whose lip gloss I borrowed - cinnamon flavored of course - and upon applying it my face immediately broke out and my throat constricted. My classmates reacted equally with haste and dumped water on me! Quite the spectacle, unforunately we weren't detectives enough to determine what had caused the reaction other than the "lip gloss"

That is, until the next semester when we switched from sewing to cooking class and it was "french toast day." The teacher merely removed the cinnamon from the cupboard and I had the exact same reaction.

At the time, my doctor was shocked. She couldn't beleive that someone was allergic to the smell of something so sereverly that I could collapse if it was across the room. And how could I not have known for 14 years?!

We deduced that I just hadn't been around cinnamon enough as a child and that hormonal changes had caused my allergy to go from mild irratant to severe and that I just hadn't noticed.

As far as my life goes now, it's been 10 years since that first reaction and they vary from day to day. Some days they are less severe - they seem worse if my immune system is down to begin with. When I had mono a few years back I couldn't even enter coffee shops or bakeries without passing out - an experience Starbucks on 5th Avenue will remember surely.

I had a boy kiss me once while chewing cinnamon gum - we now refer to that as the kiss of death - because I immediately collapsed and they had to take me to the hospital to stop my convulsions and vomiting. The body will do whatever it can to expulse the cinnamon from your system.

I totally understand why smelling it is worse than ingesting it - because the smell goes directly into your blood stream - whereas if I do eat it now - I'm okay if I have beneadryl on me. But if I smell it - I need as much air as possible for as long as possible and that's only if I'm smelling it for like 10 seconds. Any longer than that and i'm probably on the floor.

I hate the holidays the most. The worst invention was Wal*Mart's "let's put actual cinnamon sticks in the aisles!" won't that be fun for customers? Cinnamon is a flavor that a) makes you warm b) makes you think of warm/fond memories c) makes you buy more and d) makes you hungry - so it's a real big pusher for grocery stores and department stores - it's why people use it so often.

I do enjoy going into Coldstone now though, "would like to sample our cinnamon flavored ice cream?" "no, I would like to sample your death... thank you"

I have a 10 month old and we just realised that he has a sensitivity/ allergy to cinnamon as well. I found this out through trial and error of coarse. We tried a baby food (in a jar) pears and oatmeal from beechnut and the heinz apple, oatmeal and cinnamon cereal. He broke out in a facial rash. Today not even thinking I boiled cinnamon on the stove (to make the house smell christmas like) and the poor thing got watery eyes, coughing, sneezing. I thought it was just a cold coming on but then realised about the food sensitivity and thought " stupid mommy!!!" Thank god for benadryl for kids!!! And it wasn't a sever allergy and a trip to the hospital

y son, now 5, is allergic to cinnamon. I first found out when he was just over a year old. In hindsight, he had been having digestive symptoms from small amounts in cereals and such, but when I put flax oil with cinnamon oil in his yogurt he got blisters on his face, all inside his mouth and on his tongue, screamed and cramped horribly for days, and the diarrhea caused him to blister anywhere it touched. There have been a couple of accidents since then, all with the same reaction. I have learned to be extremely cautions in restaurants, bakeries, other's cooking (especially around the holidays), candles and potpourri and read all labels for cinnamon, spices or natural flavoring. I was really hoping that around 8 I'd have him try a little, but after reading these postings am a bit worried that symptoms worsen over time/with age and could become much more severe, even life-threatening.

This is nice to find. The last few days I thought I was alone in my "newly acquired" cinnamon allergy. On Christmas Eve, I made a wonderful mulled apple cider, everyone was enjoying, literally going gaga over this, quite funny actually. I had had breathing problems all day( I thought due to my asthma) come to find out, it was the 2 cinn stix I had been boiling all day. Found this out after I drank ONE sip of this, and immediately my throat closed. It was my iodine allergy all over again. Had to go to ER, where they said do not drink any more cinn flavored things, could be a fluke, never know, maybe something you ate in the hors duerves. The next morning I baked cinn rolls for my family, same thing happened. For pete's sake, I am 28, and "new" allergies keep popping up. What's up with that!

Glad to see a site on this subject. I have always had a sensitivity to cinnamon in candy, gum,and toothpicks. It has become much worse in the last few months. I fell asleep near a candle (not burning) and breathed the aroma all night. It was very difficult to breathe the next day. My throat didn't close up, but my lungs and nostrils were very sore. The holidays were very difficult to get through. I have also had the same symptoms with a mint hot cocoa mix. I don't know if it may be the mint, or if the cocoa may have cinnamon in it.

Nice to see I'm not alone in this cinnamon-free journey.
I recently ate a pastry with sprinkled cinnamon on top. Within minutes, I had itchy lips, itchy mouth, and a swollen tongue. Is there another good substitute for cinnamon?

This is a great website and I'm glad to see I'm not alone. I recently found out that cinnamon is one of the top 10 food allergies. Interesting isn't it? I had to get an epi-pen this year. Like most of you, I've been allergic since my teen years and now in my 30s, it has gotten worse. More allergies are showing up. This past month, I became allergic to nutmeg as well. I'm finding that in a lot, like Season-all, bread crumbs, etc. You really need to ask and let your server know in the restaurants about the food allergy. In August, I didn't because I knew the ice cream I ordered didn't have cinnamon, however others at the table ordered food with it. The server used the same scooper and I ended up very sick with just a few bites. I will share the new benadryl strips work much faster than even the liquid, so carry those!!!

Just last week I found out I was allergic to cinnamon gum. My mouth got all swollen, and I got that swollowing propblem in your mouth when you have a sort throat. Just today I forgot about the gum and had another piece of cinnamon gum and again my through swelled up.

For many years, I've known I had what I thought was sensitivity to cinnamon gum, cinnamon-flavored toothpaste. My tongue and gums get very red and irritated. I didn't know you could have an allergy to it though. Once I went to the dentist for a checkup and he said I had gingivitis. I then told him about the cinnamon gum and toothpaste. He said that was what was causing it and to stay away from it.

i have been giving my son cinammon altoids the last few days, and didn't make the connection till just now that right after he eats his "mints" he has been complaining about his lips hurting and this mouth (in general) hurting. finally tonite i took a good look at him and his top lip had a red swollen outline outside of his lip. :( I have suspected a possible reaction to "Cinnamon Krunchers" cereal in the past, but he was having it at the same time as another food i suspected, and i had forgotten all about that. We will have to be more careful from now on!!!

Just as a side note, my ds is also allergic to tomatoes, wheat, corn, dust, and miralax (medication).

For years I made fun of my older sister's "cinammon allergy"... I thought she was just whining because she didn't like the smell of it. Besides... HOW could anyone be alergic to CINAMMON? Well at the age of 37, after years of enjoying cinammon, I ate a cinammon roll at work. Within a minute I was broke out in whelps, and I could feel my throat swelling. It took two hours and 100mg of benadryl to relieve me of my symptoms. Since then I have absentmindedly ingested the stuff with the same reaction. At this point I can't stand the smell, it gives me a terrible headache. Christmastime has become a nightmare. This is a very difficult allergy to have because reading labels does not always help, and it is often the "secret ingredient" of many cooks. You can not always smell or even taste it right away. I have been two bites into something before I realized the "evil poison" was in it. Oh and by the way, I did apoligize to my sister for never believing her, and she said she wished she could chew cinammon gum so she could blow it in my face...surely I never did that to her...well, who could possibly be allergic to cinamon...?

I am so glad to find this!!!! I thought that I was a freak. Even my allergy & asthma specialist had never heard of a cinnamon allergy.

Cinnamon, along with ginger, nutmeg and cloves, all give me an asthma attack. This only started within the last 2 or 3 years. As others have mentioned, that makes the holidays, heck, the whole autumn season, sheer H***. I now carry an epi-pen.

Most people, when I tell them, don't believe me. Now I can refer them to this site.

As I have started avoiding foods with these spices, I have found it difficult. So many companies use the generic word "spices" instead of being specific and since it's not a common allergy they are not required to list the spices individually under the new food labeling law. I now have to avoid a lot of foods that I used to love. :(

I have found that I have an allergic reaction to things like Big Red, Hot Tamales, those little red hot cinnamon hearts they put out during February. My mouth swells up and I can barely physically open my mouth, and my tongue swells up. I eat other things with cinnamon in them all the time though, could it be just something in those "hot" cinnamon things? And if so, what in them would make it different?

Quick note: Hot Tamales don't contain any cinnamon.

It's a good cinnamon type flavor for us anaphylactic types.

A year ago I thought I had an allergy to metals when I broke out in hives on my wrist where I wear my watch. It lasted several days. Last month I broke out again but on the outside of my right elbow and on the right side of my neck at the hairline. I've been adding cinnamon to my oatmeal every morning for several weeks and now wonder if all this is a reaction to that. I periodically have cravings for cinnamon and indulge myself. I will try eliminating it from my diet now and see if the hives stop showing up. I'm glad I sought information on this.

I have been allergic to cinnamon since I was 12, and unfortunatley I found out the hard way. I was chewing a stick of Big Red when I noticed my gums started hurting, then swelling. They swelled so bad they were bumping up against my braces. My dad rushed me ER and they gave my some ice and benadryl and called it a day. Needless to say a couple months later I noticed my tongue was all itchy while eating a cin-a-bon I ignored it and went on my way. However when I 18 I had the worst reaction, I ate spice cake, that ended me up in the ER with a breathing mask. It sucks cause the older I get, I notice that even the smell makes me break in hives. During christmas I have to beware of stores that light cinnamon candles.

I wonder if this allergy is genetic ?

Take a look at this:
http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/131/7/929#R8

and this:
http://ce.compendiumlive.com/loadarticle.asp?quizid=77

Hi,
My daughter 3, has a cinnamon allergy. If she eats it she gets red splotches all over, I can avoid her eating it. The problem is if she smells it, she becomes devil spawn(for lack of a better description). She gets hyper, and starts throwing tantrums, doesn't want to be touched, gets aggressive. As you can imagine this is difficult to deal with, esp when it generally happens at the store. So we have an audience, who all think my child is "spoiled". I have to drag her kicking and screaming out. She only gets spots when she eats it, could anyone think what might be happening to her when she smells it? I am a stay at home mom, literally, because I'm afraid to take her anywhere. She is only 3 so can't really tell me what she is feeling, I would like to find a solution, so we can stop being home bodies...
Any help or advice would be appreciated!!!!!!

two of my 3 children have had allergies to cinnamon. We noticed them at around 10 months when we gave applesauce with cinnamon in it. Any place the applesauce touched, there was an immediate rash that lasted about 20 minutes. No breathing symptoms. They were too young for to let us know about other symptoms but they seemed happy otherwise. In my dd, the allergy lasted until 2.5yrs. MY ds is now 3.5 and still has signs, though now that he's a neater eater it's more difficult to see. Funny enough - they both had the same reactions to high fructose corn syrup, if it was a main ingredient in a food. Both outgrew this around 3yrs. They also both hate potatoes and tomatoes, which I am told are night shades so they are related. IT likely means they have atleast a sensitivity to them, if not a true allergy. The pediatrician has never been concerned, just told us to stay away from those primary foods but not worry about reading labels since the reactions are so mild.

Not sure if it's related but I have recently realized that I have oral allergy syndrome for pineappe, walnuts, and pecans.(food allergy related to pollen allergies - mild and affects only the oral cavity). I've had the symptoms for a long time but always assumed it was a simple sensitivity, not a true allergy. Oh, I also am very sensitive to cinnamon flavoring in gums, mints, toothpastes. But I hear it's not real cinnamon.

two of my 3 children have had allergies to cinnamon. We noticed them at around 10 months when we gave applesauce with cinnamon in it. Any place the applesauce touched, there was an immediate rash that lasted about 20 minutes. No breathing symptoms. They were too young for to let us know about other symptoms but they seemed happy otherwise. In my dd, the allergy lasted until 2.5yrs. MY ds is now 3.5 and still has signs, though now that he's a neater eater it's more difficult to see. Funny enough - they both had the same reactions to high fructose corn syrup, if it was a main ingredient in a food. Both outgrew this around 3yrs. They also both hate potatoes and tomatoes, which I am told are night shades so they are related. IT likely means they have atleast a sensitivity to them, if not a true allergy. The pediatrician has never been concerned, just told us to stay away from those primary foods but not worry about reading labels since the reactions are so mild.

Not sure if it's related but I have recently realized that I have oral allergy syndrome for pineappe, walnuts, and pecans.(food allergy related to pollen allergies - mild and affects only the oral cavity). I've had the symptoms for a long time but always assumed it was a simple sensitivity, not a true allergy. Oh, I also am very sensitive to cinnamon flavoring in gums, mints, toothpastes. But I hear it's not real cinnamon.

I had no idea so many people were allergic to cinnamon. And like others have said previously, thank goodness I'm not a total freak. No one else I know has an allergy to cinnamon nor had anyone else heard of such a thing.

My first reaction was about 2 years ago when I had Altoids cinnamon gum. The entire inside of my mouth was covered in blisters. I thought it was just that particular gum. "Wow, that was some powerful cinnamon gum! I'll never buy that again!" Then about a year ago, I sprinkled cinnamon in my ground coffee and thought I was going to die. I became light headed and had difficulty breathing.

It was after that second reaction that I suspected it was probably the cinnamon. Then I recalled having horrible trouble with my asthma a few years back for about 3 months when I had Harvest Spice scented room fresheners. Thank goodness they don't last longer than 3 months!

The last reaction was as recent as a few weeks ago. I made a carrot cake for my mother's birthday. It had cinnamon in it and I ate it like a moron. Watching my kids panic as I struggled to breath was enough to wake me up.

Hi, my name is Jeannie and I'm allergic to cinnamon! I now have a conscious awareness of the culprit and avoid it at all costs. I also have made an appointment with an allergist to prescribe medication in the event of an accidental dose.

I really love cinnamon too. But, I like breathing better! :)

i'm allergic to cinnamon, it brings me out in flu like symptoms.
i'm glad someone else mentioned the cinnabon outlets in airports. i flew to Las Vegas about 5 years ao and was ok on arrival, but when i came to leave, the departure lounge seemed to be full of cinnabon outlets all pumping out cinnamon into the air.
i found it hard to breathe and after a panic attack was helped from the airport by medical staff. after a handful of antihistamines they loaded me semi-concious onto a plane and sent me on my way. i was in chicago before i stated to feel any better!

i personally feel that the biggest problem with this allergy is the fact that food producers aren't required to label their products in any more detail than 'spices'...

thankfully my allergy is not as severe as others here and i can tolerate a small amount in food, just recieving a runny nose, blocked sinus and headache for my effort. a small ammount being one bite of something that has cinnamon or 'spices' near the end of the ingredient list...

It has been difficult to live a normal life with this allergy. Cinnamon is everywhere. It started out or at least enough for me to notice when I was 27 years old. Since that time with repeated exposures even the smell will cause mouth numbness and tingling and swelling of my throat. I do not go anywhere anymore with repeated exposures it has gotten unmanagable. Shannon

It has been difficult to live a normal life with this allergy. Cinnamon is everywhere. It started out or at least enough for me to notice when I was 27 years old. Since that time with repeated exposures even the smell will cause mouth numbness and tingling and swelling of my throat. I do not go anywhere anymore with repeated exposures it has gotten unmanagable. It is so isolating there are so many people that don't understand. I took my son for his eye exam and in the waiting area a person opened and started to chew cinnamon gum. Two epi-pins and a hospital visit later I could function again. My 15 year old son told me that I don't have to go crazy or do anything dangerous cause every time I walk out of our house could be my last so I an already living on the edge. It isn't always easy finding the humor in things but if I dwelled on it my outlook would be dismal. My father-in-law was at the hospital in the hospice and we knew he would not live much longer. My sons and I went up to see him after school that day. Every was sad but we said our goodbyes. When we were leaving the elevator doors opened by the employee break room where they were reheating cinnamon rolls. Thank goodness I was at the hospiital.
I have so many comments about how unusual it is. Well it isn't unusual for me. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one in the world that has reactions. I can't grocery shop, go to my kids conferences, even the hospital or doctors visit could be a problem. When I am in the ER, they always have a new person that hasn't seen me before an is an amazing experience for them. It does get ugly though. My lips turn blue and swell so much my skin cracks open and bleeds. I can feel the sides of my throat touch each other, I have a burning sensation inside my chest and feel like I am drowding. I would like to get in tough with others or is there a support group online or something.

Yesterday it happened to me again. I was in transit on my second flight of a long day of travel and the next flight was leaving OHare gate K18. As I approached it I first smelled, then saw the Cinnabon, and could not hold my breath until I reached the gate. When I got there, I was seeing spots, and could still smell the cinnamon. It was 40 minutes before boarding so I left, again passing the Cinnebon, feeling very light-headed.

I came by the 3rd time to board and they hadn't begun yet. I saw pilot and purser outside the gate and told them my problem. The purser, a Ms. Christian, standing right in front of me, turned to the pilot and said, just like I wasn't there, "Just call medical. If she's going to be sick, I don't want her on my flight!" I quickly said that I would be better if I could just stop breathing the cinnamon, and thankfully, the pilot took pity on me. After a couple of minutes, they let me pre-board.

But it was close. I would have been stuck at the mercy of medical without insurance and away from home where I know no one, and without any money to pay for it! I wonder if Cinnabon would pay my expenses?

Prior to my trip, I'd just recovered from 2 weeks off work due to pneumonia, just finished second variety of powerful antibiotics, and now have two thick streams of drainage from head to throat that I'm gagging on since yesterday.

I've filed a complaint this time with City of Chicago and with Cinnabon. They can't pump that poison gas out into the airplane gate areas. I can avoid stores with cinnamon and any food which might be risky.
But, I have as much a right to fly an airline as they do to sell their product. And airlines don't know months in advance (when I get a mileage redemption) what gate the planes will use!

My cinnamon allergy started several years ago, but it was minor. It now is life-threatening. It began with a headache when I smelled cinnamon, especially cinnamon gum. I also developed bad headaches when shopping(perfume counters as well as food courts), although I did not realize that the cinnamon allergy was the culprit at the time. One Sunday in church, a visitor sat down near our family. This person was chewing cinnamon gum. I had to leave church and use an epi-pen. This was the first time that the allergy had caused anaphalaxis from just smelling cinnamon. It's been 'down-hill' from there. I have trouble with my job. "I'm sorry. I forgot. I made oatmeal with cinnamon in the lunchroom." And how am I supposed to heat up my lunch? At the holidays it was even worse. People brought in cinnamon-flavored baked goods and would say. Stay out out this room; there is cinnamon in there. But if a person has been eating cinnamon, I can't get around them either and the aroma finds its way through the hallways as people take it back to their desks. Ugh! Sometimes the amount of cinnamon is so slight that my face and lips start tingling before I actually smell it. My allergy is just getting worse, not better. I have probably used 12-14 epi-pens in the last year, because it is impossible to avoid it! A bakery (factory sized) near my home now has the air polluted with cinnamon 3-5 days per week. This summer I am going to be contacting EPA about it.
My quality of life is diminishing and I seem to be powerless to stop it. The really bad thing is that people seem to resent the fact that I can't be around cinnamon at all. Does anyone else have that problem?

I just realized that I might be allergic to cinnamon today. Growing up, I'd always be able to eat cinnamon toast, cinnamon candies and baked goods with cinnamon in them without a problem. Then a couple of years ago, I decided to eat some Big Red gum, something I hadn't had in at least 5 years, and after chewing it for a few minutes, my tongue, cheeks and lips swelled, got tingly and numb. This happened one more time with the gum, and another time with a cinnamon candy, but I assumed that it was a reaction to artificial cinnamon flavors.

Recently, I got an Epicuren mask facial. My face completely broke out in a rash full of tiny, red, bumps that made my entire face swell. The pain and itchiness from the rash makes it hard for me to function until the rash dries up and my skin starts to peel. It usually takes about 3-5 days before I'm completely rash free. I have used 2 different Epicuren skin products and had the same reaction each time. My most recent experience was after a Epicuren mask was accidentally put on my face. It was on less than 20 seconds yet I have the worst rash ever! My facialist and I thought it was the enzymes in the product until today she mentioned the cinnamon and it all clicked. So anyone who is allergic to cinnamon and maybe tempted to use Epicuren products - DON'T! You'll end up miserable for at least 3-5 days.

WE GAVE OUR 16 MONTH OLD CINNAMON APPLESAUCE FOR THE FIRST TIME 2 NIGHTS AGO. SHE INSTANTLY WAS COVERED (FACE - EAR TO EAR, CHIN, NECK, CHEST AND SOME ON LEGS) WITH A RASH THAT LOOKED LIKE A SECOND DEGREE BURN. WE IMMEDIATELY PUT HER INTO A BATHTUB TO GET IT OFF OF THE SKIN AND AFTER ABOUT 2 HOURS IT STARTED TO GO AWAY. SHE THEN SPIKE A 102 TO 103 FEVER AND BEGAN TO DROOL. I TOOK HER TO THE PEDIATRICIAN YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AND HE COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG, HOWEVER THE DROOLING, FEVER AND NO EATING CONTINUE TODAY (TWO FULL DAYS LATER). HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF THIS BEING A REACTION TO CINNAMON - AS FAR AS THE FEVER IS CONCERNED - OR IS IT JUST A FLUKE OCCURENCE AND MAYBE WE PICKED UP A VIRUS IN THE MEANTIME. OBVIOUSLY THE SKIN ISSUE WAS A REACTION, BUT COULD THE FEVER ETC BE AS WELL?

My husband LOVES the scent of cinnamon! So, I found some roll on cinnamon parfum. I have eaten cinnamon for 58 years and have never had a problem. 10 minutes after applying this parfum---just a drop on my neck---I got THE worst headache. No redness, no welts, no breathing problems but a wicked headache. So much for cinnamon smell on me. Bummer!

My husband LOVES the scent of cinnamon! So, I found some roll on cinnamon parfum. I have eaten cinnamon for 58 years and have never had a problem. 10 minutes after applying this parfum---just a drop on my neck---I got THE worst headache. No redness, no welts, no breathing problems but a wicked headache. So much for cinnamon smell on me. Bummer!

For more than a year, my daughter was breaking out with a rash and welts on her face after eating certain foods. Ketchup was the worst and makes her look terrible. I found out after making snickerdoodles today that it was the cinnamon. For the most part, she's never complained about pain and she's never seemed to have a problem breathing from it. Has anyone here never had it get any worse than just skin sensitivity? Most stories I've seen here have mentioned it getting much worse over time ...

this is for julie (#47 06/23/07)
I have two children with cinnamon allergies and they are only topical. My older one outgrew it at around 3. and my youngest still has it at 4. worst reaction is the rash. It has never progressed to anything worse. I would be very careful of tomatoes and corn syrup. Both of mine are allergic to them as well - same rash reaction. Those are more likely to have caused the problem with ketchup.

alison

I have a fairly severe allergy to anything with Cinnamon in it or the smell of it. I have just avoided the foods and espcially around Christmas have avoided potpurri filled departments stores. I have difficulty breathing and wheezing as well as sneezing attacks, and watery eyes. Benedryl does help as a precurser in case I know I will be somewhere where there is a high concentrate of the smell in the air (and Pumpkin pies in the oven on Thanksgiving).

I have a fairly severe allergy to anything with Cinnamon in it or the smell of it. I have just avoided the foods and espcially around Christmas have avoided potpurri filled departments stores. I have difficulty breathing and wheezing as well as sneezing attacks, and watery eyes. Benedryl does help as a precurser in case I know I will be somewhere where there is a high concentrate of the smell in the air (and Pumpkin pies in the oven on Thanksgiving).

I have a fairly severe allergy to anything with Cinnamon in it or the smell of it. I have just avoided the foods and espcially around Christmas have avoided potpurri filled departments stores. I have difficulty breathing and wheezing as well as sneezing attacks, and watery eyes. Benedryl does help as a precurser in case I know I will be somewhere where there is a high concentrate of the smell in the air (and Pumpkin pies in the oven on Thanksgiving).

I have a fairly severe allergy to anything with Cinnamon in it or the smell of it. I have just avoided the foods and espcially around Christmas have avoided potpurri filled departments stores. I have difficulty breathing and wheezing as well as sneezing attacks, and watery eyes. Benedryl does help as a precurser in case I know I will be somewhere where there is a high concentrate of the smell in the air (and Pumpkin pies in the oven on Thanksgiving).

This is for Alison,

Thanks for your reply. That's reassuring. We've had her tested for tomato allergy already and that was fine .. and why we were so confused as to what it could have been. Some brands of baked beans also causes the rash and welts. Having done more research, I've found that there are traces of cinnamon in both. Anyway, we're cutting down on those items now and the marking has decreased. I guess only time will tell which way this will go.

Julie

OH MY GOSH! I'm SO glad I'm not alone! I feel as if I have been reading my life stories. Like I've been deserted on an island and just found a town!

I have had cinnamon allergies since a churro (mexican fried treat) when I was 11. My mother always thought I was just being picky when I would turn it down as a child.

I wonder if there is a place we could all log cinnamon contianing foods. I have found so many it's insane.

I've contacted Dr. Pepper (just to make sure). In and Out adds cinnamon to their famous sauce. And as someone said before..so many Grahm Cracker crusts add cinnamon.

Does anyone else have any issues with nutmeg?

I have multiple health problems for which I take numerous medications.My sister often sends me vitamins,minerals and herbal items that she thinks may help me.Recently she sent a mullen lung complex that contains cassia twig,but says it has the pungent qualities of cinnamon.I'm allergic to cinnamon,I strangle nearly to death in violent coughing episodes,vomit and have violent racking headaches.Is cassis twig likely to cause the same reaction?I don't believe I'd survive such an event at this time,there's just too much else wrong with me and the stress would overwhelm a body teetering on the edge anyway.Every day is a struggle.I'd love a product that would really help my lungs,but not if I'm allergic to it.Thanks for listening,meri.

I think I may have an allergy to cinnamon gum. My tongue got little bumps on the tip (kind of like if you burn your tongue on hot pizza) and the sides felt like I had bit them. It was very raw and it was painful to eat anything hard or crunchy. Also, the symptoms were worse in the morning. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Wow, I also found this after googling cinnamon allergy. Here is my story... My 4 yr old son ate oatmeal with cinnamon sprinkled on top of it at day care, a few minutes later he was having a severe allergy attack and barely breathing! I asked his babysitter if he ate anything different and she mentioned that she had sprinkled cinnamon on his oatmeal, but we didn't think much of it. This morning I gave hime a muffin I had made at home, with cinnamon in it, and he immediatly started complaining of his eyes itching and sneezing. He has a Dr. apt. this afternoon and I'll mention it.

OMG I can't believe I found this website, just reading the stories has helped me so much. I recently had a Danne Facial and ended up in emergency at the hospital. The quick peel's main ingredient was Cassia (Cinnamon) and when the beauty therapist applied it my heart started racing and it was burning like hell. The symptoms seemed to subside after a minute or two, so I decided not to say anything as she did warn me that it was meant to feel 'hot'. However, approximately 8 hours after the facial I realised I was having an allergic reaction because, again my heart started racing, I had chills up and down my spine, I was getting hot flushes and I wanted to vomit and go to the toilet all at the same time. Also, my face was bright red and felt like it was on fire.
After being taken to emergency by ambulance, I was later discharged with a dose of Claryntine, which didn't do anything!! Now, here I am 3 weeks later and I have flu like symptoms and am still really unwell. I'm am so devastated at what has occured and feel like suing the beauty salon. I've never heard of an allergy lasting this long - can anyone shed some light on when this will pass...I would really love to hear from you.

hi folks!

just like everyone else here im intolerant to cinnamon and suffer all the same symtoms although not to a severe degree thankfully..

apart from all the usual complaints such as swelling gums etc ive recently noticed that my skin is now reacting to the cinnamon extracts that seem to be in almost all cosmetic items such as creams, make ups, shampoos, suncare etc..

im wondering if anyone else has this problem and if they have found any solutions???

i also react to benzoates, paprika and orange coloured foods..

for julie: my dietician tells me that almost all tomato based products will contain cinnamon to enhance the flavour including baked beans, tomato sauce, soup etc.

For many years I was taking Cinnamon for Diabetes, mixed with oatmeal. Started with a small amount (maybe 1/8th teaspoon), gradually increasing as the diabetes progresses. Never had any symptoms of a problem, then I got to one teaspoon a day. Blood sugars were remaining good.
I broke out in a rash all over my body that was intensely itchy and painful, and in some places blistering like second degree burns. My husband and I both had the itchy rash so we thought we had both go into something. We used Benadryl lotion and tablets and in about a week the rash went away. We figured we must have eliminated the problem... but my rash came again, even more intense and painful. Followed the same remedy and it went away again. We had eliminated more questionable culprits, but it came back a third time, blisters were worse and the rash was over more of my body. I had not thought to eliminate the cinnamon because I had been using it for years. That is what it turned out to be! As soon as I eliminated the cinnamon it went away, with the help of Benadryl. Meanwhile I was loosing 3 lb. a week during the first 6 weeks and then it slowed down over the next months. For six months I lost weight easily (30 lb)then at the end of 6 months I suddenly noticed a change in my body and was back to my old weight problem. Presently I have no symptoms of diabetes, except a blood sugar that runs consistently slightly above the acceptable level,but is stable.

My life has been a progression of allergy problems, initially environmental, and for the last 25 years an increasing list of food allergies, and latex. I carry an epi-pen for avocado, but I am glad to hear that I will have it with me if the cinnamon would cause an anaphalactic reaction. I am now 65 y/o and have a very long list of allergies!!

Have others has a similar problem? Has the rash progressed to a respiratory problem, difficulty breathing etc?

I am glad to hear of other people who have allergy problems with cinnamon.

I am 16 and I have a cinnamon allergy. I started noticing my reaction about 3 years ago with big red chewing gum but it wasn't so bad so I thought nothing of it after a few more reactions I narrowed it down to cinnamon. It can be bothersome because apple pie is my favorite. My symptoms aren't that bad but with every reaction they seem to be getting worse. My lips swell to a post botox injection look, my tounge swells and I get painful sores under my tounge that last about 3 to 5 days. So, now I carry my epi pen with me and my friends and teacher have instructions on how to use it. I am in the middle of a reaction right now and I resemble daffy duck who drank kool-aid. So, I went to the doctor and I got another wonderful steroid injection to the butt and some heavy duty benadryll that knocks me out. I don't think that I had any cinnamon recently so I think that I may have other unknown allergies. So once this reaction has past I will go in for allergy tests which I'm nervous about. I hope all goes well.

P.S. One of the oddest food that i have found to have cinnamon (extract) is sloppy joe's sauce so beware.

I have had sensitivity since my early teen years to some nuts- walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, etc.. usually showing up in sore throat, sores in mouth, stuffed up head. Then I developed the same reaction to citrus in the last year. Lately( I am now 29), I noticed I was having this similar reaction but could not pinpoint a source. I too, like many other readers was having cinnamon in my oats in the morning, sometimes a tsp or more. I finally figured it out when twice I went to a restaurant and had a special coffee there. The reaction was almost immediate- my sinuses swelling shut and my throat thickening and getting sore. After the second time, I realized it was the coffee, and in the process of working it out, realized the coffee had cinnamon in it via the chocolate syrup. Then I began to think back, and put two and two together and realized cinnamon must be the culprit. I watched in the morning, and once I was looking for it, I noticed the symptoms were coming on in the mornings after breakfast, clearing up by night, only to be back in full force the next day( after breakfast). I eliminated cinnamon, and poof my nose was clear for the first time in months. I do notice the symptoms are getting worse though, so I may need to look into some more advanced meds other than the antihistamine I currently use.

I am SO happy to find this article - for a long time, I thought I was either crazy or the only one.

I'm 26, and I first had a reaction to cinnamon when I was about 8. My classmates and I had a contest - "How many atomic fireballs can you eat in one bus ride?" - and I won by chomping down on 7. Yes, 7 - very stupid. For the next four days, my tongue was so swelled up I could barely talk and I had the worst stomach ache.

I thought it was a fluke until I had a cinnamon altoid and a piece of cinnamon gum in the same day at college, years later. The exact same thing happened, but didn't last as long.

But it wasn't until my throat started to close up while I was eating a bagel with cinnamon creamcheese about two years later that it hit me.

And even then, I wouldn't have known except that I worked at a summer camp and they taught us all the symptoms of anaphylaxis.

I now, mostly, stay away from anything that might have cinnamon in it. I have trouble breathing in Walmart and other stores during the holidays, but I find that cooking with cinnamon at times is not that bad. I usually bake the apple and pumpkin pies for family get togethers and can have a very small taste if there's not a lot in it - stuff like corned beef and cabbage, too (the pickling spices have cinnamon). But if I've already had a bit one day, I can't eat it the next day at all - which I found out when I had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats two days in a row.

I also have a skin reaction to it - I'm a bartender and I once was asked to hand a shot of cinnamon schnapps to someone (without realizing what I was handing over - I hadn't been the one to pour it!) and a few moments later there were hives up and down my entire arm, to my neck and my face got very hot.

It's a really strange allergy - other than this and a mild lactose intolerance, I have no food allergies.

Thank you for this article. I've been dealing with this for 12 years now. I found out when I had a reaction from chewing Cinnaburst gum. And, I basically developed the allergy because I had all kinds of cinnamon containing things right up until that day with no problems. I had a red, itchy rash that showed up on and around my lips moments after chewing the gum that lasted for days. It was painful and felt like I had a bad sunburn. It even made my lips peel! I went to a dermatologist who took one look at me and told me I was allergic to cinnamon. He also gave me list of cinnamon containing toothpastes! It would seem like it was fake cinnamon flavorings but even baking cinnamon gives me the same reaction as well. I have to be very careful. I avoid anything that has the generic "spices" on the label and usually try to do a sniff test on any suspect food; that, or get my husband to take a bite first. Also, I just threw out my favorite Herbal Blistex on a cinnamon suspicion because I just had the same reaction. Luckily, none of my reactions have ever caused my throat or tongue to swell up. If I suspect that I have eaten some, I usually have some time to apply the hydrocortisone or pop a Benedryl. I thought I was part of a small minority. Glad to see I'm not the only one. If my type of reaction happens to you, too: I have found that a few days of layering a thin application of hydrocortisone and Aquaphor Healing Ointment on the rash helps to soothe and heal the irritation. For anyone who likes the taste of cinnamon, you can get a cinnamon-like taste in your cooking by mixing equal parts of ginger and nutmeg together. (provided you are NOT allergic to ginger!) :)

is anyone noticing ALOT of females replying to this post. in my 12 years of dealing with this allergy, i only remember meeting one male (a friend's child) and mostly females who had the same allergy. is this a coincidence???

Today I drunk a ready-made nesquick milkshake during my break at college... My reaction was almost immidiate, my skin came up in a huge rash, especially around my stomach, arms, neck, and chest. It was identified as an allergic reaction quickly, and upon checking the ingredients of the milkshake after going to the hospital, I found it had cinnamon in it...Who would have guessed that cinnamon would be in chocolate milkshake? I guess I now know that I'm allergic to either cinnamon or Cassia.

This is amazing, I thought I was the only one! When I was 4 I drank a bottle of cinnamon oil…I don’t really remember it, but I believe it involved a rush to the hospital.
Then when I was 9, last day of school we had a party, a kid was passing around a jar of toothpicks in cinnamon oil… next thing I know my face is red hot, my lips felt puffy and It was kind of hard to breath, talk about scary. The worst part actually, after feeling better, was that I had to leave early on the last day of school and didn’t get to say goodbye to friends I would not see again until next year!
I have never heard of any one else having an allergy to Cinnamon and always assumed I “acquired” the unusual allergy when I was an inquisitive preschooler. My older brothers always teased me that I was faking over the years, because I could eat cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie without getting sick, and of course no one had ever heard that a person could be allergic to cinnamon. But it progressively got worse, now at 36, I can’t even tolerate the smell of it without a massive headache. Maybe psychosomatic, but even the smell of the FAKE cinnamon candies will have me running for fresh air and some meds. I never eat any if I can help it, but they will sneak it into anything!! So the rule, is when in doubt, don’t eat it!!! My sister-in-law makes an awesome chocolate sheet cake, or so I hear…she puts cinnamon in it! Chocolate was supposed to be safe! Cause you certainly cant eat anything with pumpkin or apples! I can’t even stand to eat raw apples now due to the sigma of the “poison” associated with EVERY Apple dessert! Sigh… Anyway, glad I am not alone.

I have a reaction to cinnamon
for a few days after eating it
in any form. My reaction is different than anyones so far listed on this site.

I become very irritable , with little tolerance.
nobody likes to be around a grouch.

anyone out there with these symptoms?

thanks.

I never had any problems with cinnamon until recently. My doctor was concerned about my cholesterol levels and I had to go onto a special diet. My wife saw some news report on how cinnamon could help reduce cholesterol, so I started to chew on (small) cinnamon sticks. In retrospect this was not a good idea, I was fine for about a week and then the inside of my mouth expanded dramatically and was so sore that I could hardly eat. Needless to say, I stopped chewing the sticks and after about a week the inflammation had almost disappeared.
That was about 3 months ago, yesterday my wife bought us some toothpaste that contained cinnamon - bad idea. After one or two brushings, my mouth has now swelled up and I have about a dozen ulcers - aaaaaargh!
My point is that I think I had no apparent problems with cinnamon until I started chewing the sticks - I think I must have passed a threshold and now I've effectively created my allergy! Moral - don't overload on cinnamon, if you don't have a problem now, you can easily create one!

I eat cinnamon fairly regularly with no problem. One time I ate a single cinnamon Altoid and immediately my stomach started seriously churning, I ran to the bathroom where I experienced violent diarrhea and vomiting. I can't believe after that experience I would ever have another cinnamon Altoid (I don't even care for them anyway!), but I really couldn't believe that that little thing could have been the cause of such a severe reaction. So one day a long while later someone offered me one and without thinking much about it I ate it and the same thing happened with the same amazing immediacy. You can bet I will never touch one again!! I wonder though- why just the cinnamon Altoids? What is the ingredient in there I am really allergic to? Maybe just the oil? Or the artificial cinnamon flavor? I don't remember ever having issue with other cinnamon flavored stuff (gum, candy, etc) over the years. Bizarre. I haven't seen any postings with this variety of cinnamon related allergy. I am grateful I can eat other cinnamon stuff though, because I do like cinnamon (aside from Altoids). Actually just today I had a sugar-free cinnamon latte at Starbucks! Hopefully the mention of cinnamon isn't like the smell of it for some of you! I kid. It does sound rough to identify what has it in there though, and the holidays must be awful- especially for those actually allergic to the smell! Who knew?

I have suffered from migraines since I was in Jr. High school. My doctor said it was the preservatives in foods I was eating. I am highly allergic to MSG. Since I have taken cinnamon out of my diet, I havn't had any migraines. I Hope that this can help someone

I did some research after eacting to Big Red and SPF. And most recently, sprinkling cinnamon powderon my coffee at the cafe. I learned that chemical SPF come from a derivative of cinnamon (notice active ingredient is something like octyl-metho-oxy-CINNAMATE, now called oxinate). I now use titanium dioxide as an SPF (usually found in Origins or Clarins SPF). hope this helps others!

My dd is allergic to cinnamon whenever she eats it she gets HUGE hives and welts all over her body. Tonight we had Papa Murphy pizza, she had a cheese and her face was coated in a huge rash and her lips swollen so the "spices" they put in the sauce must have some cinnamon. On a side not I myself have many allergies but never to cinnamon, but today I poured cinnamon coffee mate into my coffee and started having a severe asthma attack. I hadn't eaten at all so I KNOW it was the cinnamon liquid coffee creamer since I had never had that flavor before.

Thanks for the information on this. I've recently developed an issue with cinnamon (harvest) scented candles, sneezing mostly. Now I'm wondering if I might have a mild allergy to the cinnamon itself.

I use to only be allergic to artificial cinnamon like in big red and cinnaburst gum, but now it has turned into anything that has cinnamon in it. I have anaphylaxis to cinnamon and spices. So anyone that is allergic to artificial cinnamon please be careful because my real cinnamon allergy developed 15 years later.

I developed a recent allergy to cinnamon after bringing home a Yankee Candle and dining at Cracker Barrel on French Toast. For 4-5 days in a row I would break out in hives including some on my voicebox, my lips and my eyes. The first few times it happened I was quite scared as I wasn't sure how long it would last. I eventually put it together after flossing with cinnamon dental floss and getting welts on my lips. My husband took the candle outside and the symptoms subsided. I have since reacted to some unexpected sources including Starbucks coffee (twice), Arby's sauce and Lay's Kettle Cooked BBQ chips gave me a horrendous reaction! I am perplexed though, as I had my worst reaction yet the other night dining out with my husband. I ate O'Charley's spinach and artichoke dip and started sneezing alot. My nose started running furiously and by the time we were done I had to take several hits off my inhaler and taken a Zyrtec. I had a huge hive on my eye before we even got out of there. The manager said the only cinnamon in the restaurant is in little packets for their doughnuts and denied that there was any in the dip. I had hives after a spinach dip before but we attributed it to the steak seasionings used in that restaurant. I read that O'Charley's uses tabasco sauce in their spinach dip... does anyone know if this could be the culprit?

Oh, and like many others here, this was a later in life development. I am 35 and just started this mess. The only other thing to ever give me hives was latex, which I avoid like the plague.

Nobody ever believed that i was allergic to cinnamon. from an early age i got headaches from the smell. if i eat anything with cinnamon in it now i get horrible hives that break out on my legs, sometims with just a small amount in the recipe. the other comments are right, a lot of restaurants can't tell you if something on there menu has cinnamon in it or not and even if you can't exactly taste it, you will feel it later on. I am a restaurant manager and I always go out of my way to help people with special dietary needs because i know how it is. I am fortunate to have a great mother who always reads labels (even though i am 32!!)and a great staff at work that knows not to chew cinnamon gum or candies around me. this is the first site i have found about this allergy and i thank you for all the info i received today!!

I was so happy to find this site. A family member of mine recently had a reaction of very bright red patches (no bumps) with a "hot" sensation and respiratory problems that came on out of the blue. The only thing that was out of the norm was the cinnamon in the breakfast we had that morning. I had no idea!

Shelli, Papa Murphys has a sweet cinnamon pizza that they make there and your pizza most likely came into contact with it. I always make sure to ask that things be made with fresh gloves from there because of that. Also papa johns, pizza hut and dominos have cinnimon items and you should have your food cut with clean pizza rollers.

A few years ago I took cinnamon as I had read that it would lower blood sugar. The article said nothing about how much to take. I started dosing myself with 2-3 teaspoons a day; counter indications to taking as much as I did did not occur to me. About a couple of weeks after starting this regimen I began having moderately bloody stools. At that time I didn't associate it with cinnamon. As a jogger I would take my heart rate, and that's when I really became alarmed. My heart rate became very erratic, skipping beats, pausing, speeding up momentarily and then slowing.
After discontinuing cinnamon everything returned to normal.

I still use cinnamon on occasion as a spice. I have no reaction to small amounts.

I'm concerned about octlymethoxycinimate or SPF in a previous post.

In and Out special sauce contains a pickle relish that is brined in cinnamon.

Dr. Pepper did not reply.

I'm concerned about octlymethoxycinimate or SPF in a previous post.

In and Out special sauce contains a pickle relish that is brined in cinnamon.

Dr. Pepper did not reply.

My daughter and I share, what I feel, is the same allergy. When she eats Grands Cinabon Cinnamon Rolls she breaks out with small red bumps on her face, when I eat them, I get a case of irritable bowel which within a week turns into an abdominal infection. The first time this happened to me, I thought it was a coincidence. I started taking liquid acidopholis and several months later, ran "the test" with cinnamon rolls again and had the same reaction. I have to take Flagyl to get rid of the infection. Really bizzare.

In respone to Jaimee comments back in Sept, I too had a Danne facial just 2 days ago. New year's Eve and have broken out in a rash all over my face. It's very itchy and red and I'm frightened that my face will stay like this forever. Can anyone help!

I am completely appauled that the FDA insists on slandering natural remedies but does nothing about hidden ingredients in so called approved foods. There should be a petition to require the 'spices' and 'natural flavors and colors' to be identified! I have no problem with cinnamon but have reactions to other hidden ingredients.

My daughters face gets raised red welts anywhere cinnamon touches her face. It never occured to me that it was cinnamon until a few weeks ago I served her some unsweetened applesauce but since I had served her it the day before I added a teensy bit of brown sugar and a bit too much cinnamon. She liked it but kinda started coughing a bit and touching her tongue and then I realised her face was swelling and turning really red where the applesauce was. So I wiped it off and it started to fade but her skin remained a little dry and flaky. I gave her plain applesauce the following day to see that it wasn't the applesauce. After reading this article I called the manufacturer of the cinnamon and they said it was made from cinnamon cassia, which explains why she didn't react to cinnamon bark sticks I put in the wassail last year. So I just now mixed up a paste of the cinnamon and applied some to my face and arm, and also to my daughters face, arm and leg. It was only a minute before my face started burning and less for my daughter before she started getting itchy and then begging to wipe it off. I didn't put her through any more but I left my face for a few more minutes. Our faces are still burning and itchy and my arm feels raw. I regret having done this to us, it is not pleasant. OW! So no more cinnamon for us.

I first started to get headaches from the smell of cinnamon about 15 years ago. It also gave me headaches to eat it. Now, I carry 2 epi-pens and Zyrtec in case I encounter the smell. My face tingles, my throat, face, mouth and tongue swell (the rest of me swells too) and I have difficulty breathing. It takes at least a week to completely recover from one episode. Sometimes my face starts tingling and my tongue starts swelling before I consciously smell it. I quit a new teaching job this fall due to 5 exposures to cinnamon in one month. The HR director assured me that The Americans with Disabilities Act would be followed from that point on, but I was so sick and run down by that time that I did not have the energy to teach. How hard can it be to make sure a coffee cake doesn't have cinnamon or 'spice' for an ingredient? Or that custodians know not to leave cinnamon scented air freshener in restrooms? I'm actually afraid to go back to teaching.

Jan 2008.I am addicted to hot balls, hot tamales and cinnamon gum. The other day at work I ate my hot ball and must have had about 3 pieces of cinnamon gum in a row(once it loses its flavor I put in a new piece) and had some hot tamales, my lip swelled and took a good 24hrs to go down with about 4 benadryl in me throughout the night. Not sure if I just over did it with the cinnamon. I can put ground cinnamon in coffee or on food and it does not bother me. Hope it was just an isolated case

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I just wanted to post an alert. I always break out in a horrible rash everywhere I put sunscreen. I am glad that someone found out that cinnamon is an ingredient in some sunscreens. I wanted to let everyone know that cinnamon is also an ingredient in alot of hand lotions. Just look for any ingredient that has Cinnamate or just -cinna- in the name. Especially Johnson and Johnson products have cinnamon as ingredient.

What is an organization doing putting STRONG powerfull spices in baby food(Heinz). Someone should lobby the government and get them to STOP. A doctor told an older man to restrict his taking of spices and so I know instinctly NOT to give those type of "foods" to such small human beings(babies) or toddlers!! Spices are NOT an Essential food for babies anyway.! I don't know but I would try giving a Tiny bit of Organic cinnamon to 5 or 6 y.o.'s and then if that didn't work maybe at 8 years old.

If only there was some resource somewhere, where Everyone could get Reliable Info. on different foods/spices etc. etc. - on second thought this could be the Web Site that people go to and see at what age children should be fed something and see the results. Also People should be told to use the Real cinnamon; organic!

No wonder some people break out. I bet the corporations (or maybe they) are manufacturing cereals and rolls/pastries and using cassia which is very toxic, which tastes like cinnamon but Isn't! Or the corporation(s) put artificial "cinnamon" in their products! The Best thing you can do is switch to Organic cereals/foods/cinnamon(for people who can tolerate it), etc., even if the Health Food manufacturers have cinnamon in their products, I'm sure they'd list it!

The commercial foods are grown with some Deadly chemicals which react to spices, etc. so that is a problem too, I believe. Another thing you can do is get together and lobby the government to get manufacturers to list All the ingredients(Why Shouldn't they??).

I dislike very much that with a lot of people or even a few people who are alergic to anything; that the gov. doesn't automatically get off their backsides and get manufacturers to list Everything in their ingredients, because one person getting ill with it, is Still one Too Many.

I shake my head in disbelief when something like this happens and people have to get the government to get them to change. If someone gets an allergy, it should be Enough to go to the corporation and ask them to make their products, with one with cinnamon in it and one without it, in it. You really shouldn't have to go to the government anyway and waste Time to get them to act to tell the corp.'s to stop putting cinnamon in their products.

I was wondering what Cinabon was. I'm from Canada and since we don't get them up here I didn't know what they were. Also I was wondering if a woman was walking in the Airport how can she smell Cinabon and I read a post who described what it was. Cinnamon buns. It would be nice if people would describe what it is they are talking about because in some Countries they don't have a/some manufacturer(s) like yours.

One more thing, one woman was saying: Quote: My dd - End Quote -- and described what she was eating. I didn't know what a dd was. Then I read another post and she described dd as her daughter. I Don't get it! There is only One d in daughter not 2, so how do you figure on referring to your daughter with 2 dd's?

I have added cinnamon to hot chocolate drinks in the last few weeks to add flavour and on every occasion a painful headache followed within an hour. When I have drunk hot chocolate by itself, this never occurred. Maybe an interaction is occurring but I will be avoiding
cinnamon from now on.

I've had cinnamon all my life and for the past year I have started getting reactions when eating cinnamon. The only symptom I get is a burning / itchy sensation around my nose and skin turns red in that same area. Lasts about 30 minutes, then goes away.

Has anyone had allergy testing for Cinnamon? Is it available or is it only through trial and error?

I've ingested small amounts of cinnamon over 40 years and had no problems. A year ago I ate a ciinamon bun from the grocery store that was just loaded with it, I'd never had so much cinnamon at one time and I experienced a tingly sensation, along with a little disorientedness and my ears felt burning hot. Just the other day I had a bowl of a cinnamon crunch cereal and by the time I was finished I felt an odd sensation at the back rightside of my head that frightened me- I thought I could feel a mushy sensation like blood was not flowing properly and pooled and I feared I was having a stroke -it was very real and very weird. I'm going to watch what I eat from now on, I'm afraid the manufacturers of these products go overboard with the amounts they are putting in. I must be somewhat allergic or sensitive to cinnamon.

for gemma! yes i was refered for skin patch testing on the n.h.s. and it came up with cinnamon and benzoates E210-E219. my understanding is that if you are allergic to one, you will be allergic to the other. this was then followed up by a referal to a dietician to help me avoid them in my diet so i now have a big fat diet sheet to follow!!!

So glad to know that we are many and hopefully we can get someone to listen.
I've been allergic to cinnamon for a lot of years and people won't believe it. Being I'm disabled I had to move into Senior Apt. building that had elavators for us. Some evenings we'd have a pot luck supper,everyone brings a dish to pass, and I'd make sure to ask if they but cinnamon in there dish. I recall this woman saying no, and then sat and watch as I ate her food just so she could see if I really had an allergy!!!! How very ignorant can people be.

I don't know if any of you have these allergen problems concerning people not believing you. We were not made alike and thank goodness otherwise we'd be creating sufferings just for their enterainment.
I also have allergies to MSG,nitrates,many other preservatives, tropical fruits and many more foods.Seems there are more each month and I make everything from scratch at home, this way I know what's in it.
My son also has the cinnamon allergy and has to read labels carefully.

Take care all and pray that companies will be held reliable for the things they sneek into your food supply. Nothing is wholesome anymore!!!

So glad to know that we are many and hopefully we can get someone to listen.
I've been allergic to cinnamon for a lot of years and people won't believe it. Being I'm disabled I had to move into Senior Apt. building that had elavators for us. Some evenings we'd have a pot luck supper,everyone brings a dish to pass, and I'd make sure to ask if they but cinnamon in there dish. I recall this woman saying no, and then sat and watch as I ate her food just so she could see if I really had an allergy!!!! How very ignorant can people be.

I don't know if any of you have these allergen problems concerning people not believing you. We were not made alike and thank goodness otherwise we'd be creating sufferings just for their enterainment.
I also have allergies to MSG,nitrates,many other preservatives, tropical fruits and many more foods.Seems there are more each month and I make everything from scratch at home, this way I know what's in it.
My son also has the cinnamon allergy and has to read labels carefully.

Take care all and pray that companies will be held reliable for the things they sneek into your food supply. Nothing is wholesome anymore!!!

In reply to Bryana (post 82)...I received a reply from Dr. Pepper today after waiting only two days...Here's what they had to say to my request if there was cinnamon in it...

Thank you for contacting Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages regarding our ingredients.

Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages complies with all applicable labeling regulations promulgated in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory bodies. Any ingredient that is not listed on the label is considered proprietary to Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages. If you have a concern regarding the intake of this product, we suggest that you contact your health care provider. If you have known sensitivities to any substance listed in the ingredient statement, we advise discontinuing use of the product.

Thanks again for contacting us.
The staff at Dr. Pepper

In reply to Bryana (post 82)...I received a reply from Dr. Pepper today after waiting only two days...Here's what they had to say to my request if there was cinnamon in it...

Thank you for contacting Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages regarding our ingredients.

Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages complies with all applicable labeling regulations promulgated in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory bodies. Any ingredient that is not listed on the label is considered proprietary to Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages. If you have a concern regarding the intake of this product, we suggest that you contact your health care provider. If you have known sensitivities to any substance listed in the ingredient statement, we advise discontinuing use of the product.

Thanks again for contacting us.
The staff at Dr. Pepper

Naturally my response was not very nice...if they refuse to give ME a 'yes' or 'no' answer, how would my doctor know what's in it? I let them know what I thought of their "proprietary issues"...

I've only recently developed an allergy to cinnamon and have known for about 3 weeks. It is so bad that I have an epi-pen to take wherever I go. Small amounts on my tongue causes stinging and burning on my tongue, after which I get blisters/ulcers in my mouth. If I smell it or touch it, I get bumps/blisters on my thighs and arms, and my face burns like it's on fire. When I eat it, my tongue swells, my throat hurts and closes up causing me to cough a LOT and not be able to breathe.

I've gotten the runarounds with emails to a lot of companies. It's frustrating since it's not a requirement to list cinnamon individually on an ingredient list. Just a note to those who don't know...mexican food contains cinnamon a lot because they use it as a "secret ingredient" to give the illusion of pepper/spice for those who can't handle the jalapenos and chile peppers.

Good luck!

Just an FYI - my doctor told me that people with cinnamon allergies can also have a capsicum (hot pepper) allergy, as they are in the same family (or something like that). I'm allergic to both, unfortunately.

When I was a kid, I loved Big Red Gum, even though it made my tongue tender and my throat irritable. I just never thought much of it- it was similar to my reaction to bananas, which cause the roof of my mouth to hurt, but I love them so much I eat them anyway.

Well, last week, I bought a pack of Big Reds and started chewing them. I noticed that my throat was irritable that week, and it slowly became clear that every time I put one in my mouth, the allergic reaction was stronger- but not until I had a severe reaction in which my tongue swelled up and my throat constricted and I began overproducing mucous, to the point where I couldn't even lie on my back. It was a miserable night. I happened to be going through a terrible breakup at the time, and was considering that perhaps the strain on my immune system caused my allergy to intensify. Immediately thereafter I began to identify allergic reactions to almost everything I put in my mouth, from fresh fruits and fruit juice to tuna fish to dairy products- just about everything but bread. It's quite ridiculous. I think, though, that I just can't process much because my reaction to the cinnamon is so intense that it's affecting basically any organic food I try to eat.

There was a bottle of cinnamon oil in my cabinet, and I wanted to test and see once and for all if it was the cinnamon that was the root of the problem. So I rubbed a small drop of it on my wrist. Immediately, just the fumes and the scent caused my tongue to start swelling, and my wrist began to itch. I washed it off ASAP, hacking on my own phlegm. I'm bona-fide allergic to cinnamon, and whether I'm allergic to anything else remains to be seen.

Im not alone! About a week ago I began chewing alot of cinnamon gum and my tongue swelled up horribly, so did my gums and instantly my entire mouth was full of Kankor sores. Its terrible! I still have it now. I never had a problem with it before. I havent been able to talk and my doctor put me on some sort of antibiotic. I have a rinse that I use, that helps the most, and my dad gave me a couple pain pills that make life worth living, haha!

I have not eaten in about 3 full days now, and I can only drink water. I've had the swelling for about 6 days now, and I cannot wait for it to go away!

my son is 9 months old fair skin and blue eyes I added cinnamon to his applesauce and oatmeal this morning and red spots everywhere it touched! He has had baby food that had it in there already and no red spots. Its clear to me that it is for sure something they put in our cinnamon in the store that cuases this. From reading the posts I feel this is something our doctors should have warned us about considering how many children this seems to effect!! I called the doctor and im watching him very closely to make sure there is nothing else going on. This is very scarey!!

Most of my life I never had a problem with Cinnamon, until I worked in a bakery. I came in contact with baker's cinnamon most of my day and would have welts all over my arms at the end of the day if I didn't use latex gloves to bake with (awkward!) but in the years since I've worked there, I've begun to be able to eat it again as long as it's been baked... raw still bothers me.

About 2 weeks ago a gentleman at work started using a Glade Plug in air freshner. Ever since then, my eyes water, my nose feels like the mucous membranes are burning, my throat hurts, and I have had 4-5 days with wicked headaches and I see bright floaters. When I leave work I'm okay. Today I decided to stay home from work to see if it was pollen allergies. I was fine until lunch so I went to work. Within 45 minutes, the eyes, the nose, and now the throat ache and the headache. Could this be an allergy to Cinnamon? I think the scent is apple pie. I know at Christmas time I avoid stores with cinnamon scent for the same reason, and once a Physical therapist rubbed cinnamon oil on me to combat Hypersentistivity and I hated it I got angry with her immediately washed it off and canceled future appts. I don't notice it in foods, just on me and in the air and I hate it.

I'm so glad to have read everyone's comments. My daughter had a skin reaction to cinnamon and I thought it had to be something else - cinnamon seems so benign. Everywhere the ground cinnamon from her applesauce touched her face, she broke out in hives and redness. She is also fair with blue eyes. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but I read several posts that mentioned that. Her doctor recommended washing the area with baking soda and water to get rid of the oils and it worked beautifully.