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Seed allergy
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025

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In the modern world, it is difficult to imagine a person who would not suffer from allergies. The environmental situation and constant health problems lead to the fact that a person develops personal intolerance to an irritant factor, which develops into an allergic reaction. Statistics show that 30% of cases of allergic reactions are due to food intolerance, among which an allergy to seeds stands out.
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Allergy to seeds: causes, symptoms
Allergy to plant seeds is not very common in medical practice, but it should not be ignored. The main reason that seeds can become an allergen is that the seeds of food grains and a number of other plants contain albumin and globulin, which have allergenic properties. The worst thing that an allergy to seeds can lead to is an imbalance in the immune system, which, subsequently, is fraught with long-term treatment. Therefore, you should not ignore an allergy when the first symptoms appear.
Symptoms of allergy to seeds include redness of the face, difficulty breathing, tingling and itching in the mouth, and pain in the sinus area. In severe attacks, you can also observe diarrhea and vomiting, a constant feeling of nausea, soreness and redness of the eyes, coughing and a feeling of swelling in the throat, which causes difficulty breathing. However, most often, allergy to seeds manifests itself in the form of urticaria or Quincke's edema. Symptoms of allergy are purely individual and can manifest themselves both in a mild form and in attacks. Over time, allergy to seeds can cause the development of asthma. Therefore, when the first symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor.
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Allergy to sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds have a number of useful and medicinal properties. They are included in many dietary products and help fight allergic reactions to nuts. In addition, pumpkin seeds help remove helminths from the human body. But there are cases when these healthy products cause allergies, although such cases are very rare.
Allergy to pumpkin seeds is almost never encountered. If it does occur, it is accompanied by hives and difficulty breathing. Symptoms of allergy to sunflower seeds are more varied in their form. They were described in detail in this article in the section "Allergy to seeds: causes, symptoms", so there is no need to focus on them again.
The main points of treatment for allergies to seeds include avoiding the product, as well as adrenaline injections. In cases of complication of symptoms, you should consult a specialist immunologist or allergist. Allergies to sunflower and pumpkin seeds are not contagious and depend only on the characteristics of the human body and its physiological inclinations.
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Allergy to seeds of other plants
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Allergy to sesame seeds
Recently, it is the allergy to sesame seeds that is most common, compared to allergic reactions to other seeds. This fact is explained by the fact that the use of sesame seeds in products used by humans in various areas of life has increased significantly. At this stage, sesame seed oil has become one of the ingredients of cosmetics, massage products, and hair or body care products. Sesame is often found in food products (cookies, crackers, halva, vegetable oil). As a result, the frequency of contact with a possible allergen has increased, which leads to an increase in sesame allergies. Allergy to sesame seeds itself rarely occurs, more often it occurs in addition to an allergy to nuts. This is due to a cross-reaction of the interaction of proteins contained in nuts and sesame. Allergy to sesame is accompanied by standard symptoms for allergic reactions and requires treatment in the form of limiting consumption and taking antiallergic drugs.
Allergy to cotton seeds
Contact with such an allergen as cotton can be obtained in everyday life, since coarse-fibered cotton fabrics are often used for furniture upholstery. Such fabrics may well contain cotton seeds. An allergic reaction occurs due to interaction with a protein with a relatively high level of carbohydrates contained in cotton. Allergy to cotton seeds clinically manifests itself as bronchial asthma or allergic rhinitis. The primary symptoms are the same as other allergic reactions.
Allergy to flax seeds
Flax in varying degrees of processing is often included in food products, cosmetics and clothing. Therefore, contact with a possible allergen is not limited. Most often, such an allergy manifests itself in reactions of the respiratory organs (runny nose, difficulty breathing, sneezing), skin reactions (hives, itching, redness) or gastrointestinal tract disorders (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea). Allergy to flax seeds can be in addition to allergy to mustard.
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Diagnostics
Diagnosis of allergy to seeds is carried out by a specialist allergist based on blood tests and individual reactions of the body. Therefore, when the first symptoms of allergic reactions appear, you should consult a doctor who will prescribe the correct treatment.
Treatment of allergy to seeds
Treatment of allergy to seeds involves reducing the consumption of seeds in food or any other contact with the allergen and taking antihistamines. In complex forms, treatment with homeopathic remedies is possible. At the beginning of treatment, if you have had gastrointestinal tract disorders, you should carry out a series of procedures to cleanse the body. For these purposes, you should take enterosorbents. Activated carbon or Polysorb are well suited. Then you should take antihistamines such as Claritin, Cetrin or Zyrtec. You should take 1 tablet per day for a week. If the allergic reaction of the body does not decrease, you should consult a doctor again.
There are also folk methods for treating allergies to seeds, but they are distinguished by a longer period. Such methods include taking a medicinal herbal decoction. To prepare the decoction, take 10 teaspoons of viburnum flowers, 5 teaspoons of celandine, 5 teaspoons of couch grass roots, 5 teaspoons of medicinal sage, 3 teaspoons of elecampane roots and 2 teaspoons of licorice roots. The resulting mixture is poured with boiling water in a ratio of 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 250 ml of boiling water and infused for about 8 hours. This decoction should be taken 4 times a day, 100-150 ml before meals. The treatment lasts three weeks, after which you need to take a break.
A decoction of raspberries also helps well against allergies to seeds. To prepare the decoction, 50 g of raspberry roots should be poured with 0.5 liters of water and boiled over low heat for about 40 minutes. Then begin taking it. The decoction should be taken 3 times a day, 2 tablespoons before meals. It is best to store the decoction in the refrigerator. The treatment lasts no more than 6 months.
Prevention
Prevention of allergy to seeds involves moderate consumption of products containing the allergen or their complete exclusion from the diet. It is not difficult to follow such precautions, and the result will undoubtedly please you, because it is so nice to live without allergies. Be attentive to what surrounds you and then allergies will not be scary for you. Be healthy!