My son is highly allergic to red dye #40. It took a great deal of trial and error to narrow the culprit down, and some doctors still don’t believe anyone could be that allergic to food dye approved by the FDA.
Red dye #40 has been banned for use in children’s products in some countries, yet it has been allowed as “safe” for use here in America. If something is artificially colored red, pink, purple, or orange, chances are it contains Red Dye #40. They use it to make chocolate look “richer” and baked goods look more “golden”.
It can be found in almost everything – white and yellow store bought cake mixes, chocolate pudding mix, refrigerated crescent rolls, Kool-Aid, candy, cereals, Pop Tarts, cough syrup, Benadryl (how ironic!), cold medicine, and scores of other products. We’ve taught our son to READ ALL LABELS to be sure he doesn’t ingest it.
The problem for us started when he was a toddler. He had recurrent ear infections and a lot of allergy problems in general. Our family doctor put him on D’Allergy syrup (which coincidentally also contains Red Dye #40). For many months, he had no outward appearance of having an allergic reaction to the allergy medication. During one of his ear infections, he had a severe allergic reaction where he broke out in hives from head to toe and started swelling. The doctor decided he was allergic to the antibiotic and switched him to something else. Over the following months, he broke out in hives repeatedly, with no rhyme or reason as to what caused the outbreak. We tried eliminating various foods from his diet and using different laundry detergents, etc. Nothing seemed to be the trigger.
It was only after a family friend told us she removed all red dye #40 from her kids diet that we had an “a ha!” moment. We took him off of D’Allergy and carefully watched everything he ate to be sure there was no artificial red dye in it. The hives stopped immediately, and when red dye was re-introduced to his diet, the hives started back up. I cannot tell you the relief it was to finally know what the problem was, and also how frustrating because the very thing that was supposed to be helping him was making him worse!
Red dye can also cause hyperactivity in children among many other problems. The symptoms we deal with are severe hives from head to toe, swelling, and nose pouring. Prescription Atarax usually stops it in its tracks, but it has been bad enough in the past that we’ve had to use steroids also (and some brands of the steroids contain Red Dye #40 – we had that happen when we rushed him to the ER one evening after eating some Red Dye in a school lunch. The ER doctor informed me that she had never heard of anyone being allergic to Red Dye and acted like I was an imbecile. She put him on Benadryl (I chose the Dye Free kind) and a steroid that had Red Dye in it. He kept getting worse even on the meds, and I finally realized what the problem was and stopped the steroids immediately – he got better quickly after that. )
We have also used the herb Yellow Dock with good success when he has inadvertantly eaten something with Red Dye, which is rare nowdays. Another thing that relieves itching is to take an old sock, pour 1 cup of dry oatmeal into it, tie the top off, and throw it into a hot bath. Rub the sock all over the inflamed skin, and it helps tremendously.
For more information, visit the website http://red40.com/ . There are other dyes that can also cause serious problems, but from our experience, Red Dye #40 is the worst.
I can’t believe I just happened to read this. My son has reacted to red dye for the last 15 years. Many doctors have told me there is no such thing over and over again. My son actually bleeds internally when he eats any # of red dye.
Thanks for getting the word out!
We know of two other families locally who have the same Red Dye issues. It amazes me that the gov’t says it’s ok to put into our food! We avoid ALL of the red dyes just out of caution – I suspect none of them are good for a body.
There is a product called “Moducare” which is all natural and contains plant sterols. It has really helped to boost his immune system. It’s available on Ebay or Amazon.com.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
We have to watch the red dye consumption around here, too. It makes PDD-NOS actions more pronounced. Isaiah’s developmental doctor was amazed at his progress this past year.
That’s wonderful that you have discovered the cause of so many problems! Most people believe that the reaction to artificial food dyes is an “allergic” one, but it rarely is. In most cases it’s a sensitivity, not an allergy. It would be like saying you are “allergic” to polluted air; you’re not allergic — it’s just bad for you.
An allergy typically is an unusual reaction to an ordinary substance, that is well tolerated by most people…such as milk, or corn or certain trees. An allergic reaction is handled differently by the body than a “sensitivity” which is what most people experience when they have the symptoms you describe.
An eminent allergist who did much work in this area was the late Ben Feingold, who was Chief of Allergy at a Kaiser medical center in California.
So what’s going on with the reaction to the dye? These chemicals (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, etc) are not ordinary substances!! They are created from petroleum, just like gasoline, and most of the dye in food in the US starts out at petroleum refineries in China.
As if that were not bad enough, they are permitted to contain contaminants of lead, mercury and arsenic….they just aren’t supposed to have TOO MUCH of them.
It’s amazing that any doctor in 2008 would be unaware of the decades of medical literature that show the damage from these dyes. This information has appeared in medical journals since the late 1950s! You can find out all about the studies at http://www.diet-studies.com. In a nutshell, petroleum-based dyes have been shown to result in: hives, asthma, headaches, bedwetting, ear infections, hyperactivity, attention deficits, nerve damage, immune system damage, DNA damage, reproductive damage and cancer, among other things.
You might want to print out some of the research abstracts and give them to those doctors.
Our good old FDA is so busy catering to Big Pharma, they haven’t even kept up on the research, and still believe that there’s nothing wrong with little kids eating huge amounts of petrol! The amount being consumed has skyrocketed over the years. The FDA web site on dyes misquotes a report that is 26 years old, as their justification for not getting rid of these additives.
Our non-profit organization has helped many thousands of families to identify and remove the offending chemicals. We show how to find the foods you enjoy, but without the harmful chemical additives. We even identify candies that are delicious, but free of petroleum. This includes jelly beans, chocolates, gummy bears, lollipops, candy canes, marshmallows, etc. More information is available at http://www.ADHDdiet.org.
If you send information to your doctor, be sure to include the newest study, published last year in the leading British medical Journal “The Lancet.” It showed that a modest dose of food dye caused ADHD symptoms in all of the children who consumed them. This is what many parents will soon see when their children experience Halloween Hangover (from the dyes and other synthetic additives, not so much from the sugar).
I have just finished writing an article on allergy for another blog and would be glad to share it with you if you like.
Jane Hersey
National Director
Feingold Association of the US
Hey all,
My daughter was 2years old when she first started to break out. The rash always started on her elbows and backs of her thighs. It nevers seemed to get better it just progressively got worse. She eventually looked boiled. It covered her entire body — the flesh was open and seeping.
We had been every where. Every childrens hospital known to man. They were so pulled with a diagnosis because the rash center was concave. The diagnosed her with multiple diseases and viruses. No medication helped. Finally — they sent her to Kentucky to an allergist/dermatoligist. She was amazing. She immediately started testing her for allergies and told us to with hold all red dye #40 from her diet.
The test revealed she was allergic to beef. So we kept the beef out of her diet but the rash and seeping did not go away it tried to improve but would return just as severe. So when we finally removed all the dye from her diet along with the beef with in 2 week she was completely healed up — no scars no seeping. It was a miracle.
On our visit back to the Doctor she told us we had to give the red dye back to be sure that was what it was. Needless to say we were reluctant but gave it back. With in one day the rash had started. We stopped immediatly . She is 6 now and has been rash free for 3 years — as long as NO One gives her red dye #40 or beef.
This is very difficult with kindergarten. Foods, candy, drinks, and medication have red dye. People just don’t get it. I once had a pharmacy tech ask if she had any allergies and proceeded to tell her beef and red dye #40 and she said “really allergies to medications and stuff” I don’t think they consider it an allergy unless you can give them the specifics. The school nurse— sent home a not and ask that I give her a complete list of foods she can eat or can not , which is impossible because its in so many foods and drinks that you would not think. So we have a saying, If You Can’t Read it, She Can’t Eat it”.
Thanks for listening — These allergies at times feel life consuming. I have never read so many lables. Yet, shes so great I would read a million more to keep her safe.
I have a really dumb question because I have a terrible fear of another reaction to red dye because I’ve had a severe reaction in the past with swelling tongue, etc. Is there any chance that red color on dishes, etc., could be the same thing or is it different when it is paint and has a glaze over it? I just don’t want the same thing to happen to me again. When I see the color red, I get really antsy.
Jaime,
Our motto is if God made it red it is okay. If man made it red avoid it.
I paint pottery and know that in ceramics a clear glass glaze goes over the dish. You should not be effected. Also, you would not be ingesting the plate so you should be safe.
My Son only has problems if he consumes the dye or wears it.
Good Luck
That is our motto also! I’ve told our son repeatedly that if God made it, he can eat it.
Hi Jamie,
I think that is a very legitimate question actually. Theoretically, if the dish is glazed, it should not be a problem. However, if you had that severe a reaction to red dye, I would be extra careful. I’ve honestly wondered about this myself with our son, but he has never had a problem with red colored plastic or glazed dishes.
Thanks for the response, arksoaper. By the way, I’d love to hear the story behind that user name some time! LOL. And I’m a cat lover, too. Anyway, I think I’ll just be safe and not sorry with the red thing. My daughter had bought me a very nice coffee mug for Christmas, but the rim is red and I was like, “Whoa, do I take a sip of coffee from this thing or not?” Think I’ll just admire it from afar. Thanks again for the info!
I have been taking a mediacation called levothyroxine. The dosage is 112mcg but I previously took 125mcg for many years. I never had a problem with 125 but 112 is causing me to have 6-7 diarrhea bouts a day. I looked up the ingredients in 112 and there is D & C red dye #’s 27 & 30 -Aluminum Lake. Could these red dyes be the problem?
By the way, the levothyroxine is from the Mylan company. I wonder if they are starting to use , because of the money crunch right now, some less expensive ingredients. Just a thought.
Hi Judy,
I honestly have no idea – ask your pharmacist or doctor and see what they say. You could be allergic to the dye or another ingredient in the meds.
I read something a while back about a woman who thought she was allergic to a particular spice, and avoided it for years only to find out she was allergic to a PRESERVATIVE in the spice she purchased.
On a side note: I appreciate all of the comments everyone has left on this topic. Seems there are many of us who have had bad experiences with artificial dyes!
My daughter also has a reaction to red dye. She gets very hyper and aggressive. She has now started to break out and itich really bad. My question is how do you avoid this dye in their diet? It is in everything. I have cut a lot of it out of her diet but I know that she is still getting some by her actions. Is there a website/store that sells dye free foods?
Jennifer,
Unfortunately, I don’t know of any store or website that specifically sells dye free foods. My best advice is to either make things from scratch yourself so you know what you’re giving her, or diligently read all labels. Most candy, poptarts, cereal, etc. contain red dye. Sometimes it takes a while to weed out where it’s coming from. Our son had a reaction to lasagna served at school (which is weird – tomato sauce is already red – why add dye?!).
There is no easy fix – it takes a change in habits and extra care in reading labels.
They often dye the low end tomato sauce because they use partially ripened tomatoes. Because the red pigments haven’t formed in the skin and flesh, the sauce comes out looking grey green.
My son has had severe outbreaks of hives caused by Red #40 since he was 9 years old. We try to avoid the dye, but occasionally something slips under the radar and he ends up with hives again. He also has a sensitivity to Yellow #6. I’ve recently met two adults who also have developed severe hives from Red #40. Like others of you, our doctor could not figure out what was causing the problem, but once we had narrowed it down ourselves, was very supportive. At that time, virtually all children’s antihistamines contained Red #40 and our doctor had to special order clear antihistamine liquid for us.
Thanks for the info. I was wondering if anyone has heard of a red dye allergy (or intolerance) causing stomach issues. I have been having bouts of being violently ill and no matter how much I have eaten, I only throw up pink stuff. At first I thought I was allergic to raspberries, but since cutting them out of my diet, I have still had this experience. I am wondering if I am having a reaction to red dye. Been doing internet research and haven’t found much mention of stomach symptoms associated with a red dye allergy.
My son immediately feels nauseous and vomits after eating foods with Red#40 in them. It took us a very long time to figure this out, because he has had severe reflux since birth. We just began to notice that whenever he vomited, it was always reddish. When I noticed that it was only artificially colored things, a bell went off in my head. I started to read the labels of the things that I thought triggered the vomiting.
He is in 2nd grade. He repeated Kindergarten, and his teacher just told us that his reading is not progressing. I’m wondering about the developmental aspect of this. It infuriates me that our government is ignoring this problem. It surprises me, too, how oblivious doctors can be when they make remarks about not hearing of “such a thing.” Those doctors, in my opinion, are not reading up on current events in medicine!
wow, after reading this I feel much better as we had a very similar experience. Our son had had children’s tylenol with Red Lake #40 in it when he was an infant right up until we on our own did an elmination diet. When our son was about 15 months old he started developing hives from head to toe and for months, we visited the allergist, the pediatrician and to no avail. We were treated like hypochondriacs. Blood and when old enough skin Allergy tests were run, and they just told us to use Benadryl. Once we did the elimination diet and found out it was red dye I felt awful as our son had been getting that from infancy. We are not sure if it was damaging, but having severe allergies during a developmental period constantly still is highly concerning. I would like to know if anyone whose child is severly allergic to red dye has noticed developmental or any other concerns as parents? thanks!
Hi Jenny,
We have noticed no developmental issues with our son, and he also took products containing red dye during his early years. Physically and mentally, he is at the top of his class, so I don’t believe the red dye had any lasting effects (at least I hope and pray it didn’t!). He was also a preemie, if that makes any difference in comparison.
The last *major* outbreak for him, which landed us in the emergency room, was 3 years ago. We have been overtly cautious about everything he eats, but once in a great while, something will slip through. I bought a can of macaroni and cheese the other day (new product – thought it might be worthwhile for food storage) and it had red dye. Also, Cinnamon Life cereal has red dye, and also the Viggo Yellow Rice.
It’s a shame more doctors don’t take this seriously. We *must* be pro-active with our health and that of our children, even when the doctors don’t agree with us.
Thanks for posting!
Hi. Boy am I glad to find your post!
I have an 11 year old boy with a red dye allergy. We almost mirror your experience. My son had repeated ear infections, allergies etc. It took until he was 5 for me to tie it all together. At 6 months I eliminated tylenol. Then strawberries, then kool-aid. It took a power drink given to him by a coach for us to realize the red was the key factor.
Be vigilant in your stance. We recently had our first migraine due to a red dye allergy in a chicken dinner we did not know had it. Stupid on my part. I should have checked. 5 days later, ER visits, etc. We found it was red dye induced.
The ER DR’s, my Ped., everyone kept trying to medicate him with med’s that they did not know had red in them.
I now work very closely with my Pharmacist to make sure I never pick up an Rx with red.
Our biggest struggle is with med’s. Everything has red!!
I use the red40.com website as a reference and have included a copy in his chart at the Dr and School.
Good Luck and don’t let your guard down. Many people think I am crazy, but, Mother knows best!
Kiddo is currently sick with the flu (he’s been tested for swine flu, and we’re waiting on results – dr. thinks it’s just plain ol’ flu, which is bad enough!). Please be aware that AMANTADINE, and antiviral drug, has red dye in it. He had never been prescribed this before, and we checked with the pharmacy before we left with it. The dr. wound up switching him to Tamiflu – no red dye.
Just a heads up for those of you who are allergic or have family members who are!
I have been sensitive to red dye since i was a child (I’m almost 40) I had one severe reaction after consuming a lot of red punch, depends on the amount i ingest. I cut all red dye out of my diet and avoided lotions/soaps etc. I lived with what I thought was rosacea on my face for years not realizing how many lotions, body sprays contain red dye. My face is clear now except for the occasional break out when I am unaware of red dye use. But at least i know now what to not eat again because the reaction is always the same. Flush face, itching scalp and if it’s a lot upset stomach followed by joint pain.
For the last several years i thought i was allergic to beef because i would have stomach/ joint problems after eating beef. So i stopped eating beef and of course hot dogs which most contain beef and red dye.
Yesterday I discovered some supermarkets put red dye in beef especially ground meat. So as it turns out I am probably not allergic to beef and will be talking to my butcher. I don’t like to eat beef regularly and my family has gotten use to using ground turkey, it’s better for us anyway.
Hope this helps someone.
I am SO glad to have read your post just now! I’m 44, so not a kid and my kids and I made sugar cookies last night. I put lots of red and yellow dye in the frosting. I could not sleep last night and was had so much joint pain I had to take a vicodin! I was hyper, itchy and just in a foul mood. Went to have two of the cookies today and I HAD been feeling fine. Now I am dealing with severe joint pain again, flushed and totally itchy face and a migraine. All I can say is a light bulb went on and I came down to the computer to research red dye thinking maybe that is what is causing all these symptoms. Thank you for your post!!!
I too, am so glad to find this site.
My son is 10 y/o and has broke out in hives from Red #40 dye since the age of 3. He has been through all the allergy testings and the Red #40 blood test and everything came back negative.
The reason I was so certain it was Red #40 was with his last outbreak he had been taking Robitussin DM for a cold, which the main ingredient is Red #40. It took him over a week for the hives not to be visible. Even though the test came back negative I have continued to remove Red #40 from his diet.
He had not had an outbreak in over 3 yrs. until this morning. My husband had purchased a chocolate cake and checked the ingredients for Red #40 and it was all clear, so we did not think anything about him eating it. This morning seeing him broke out I am convinced that there had to have been Red #40 in the Chocolate Motherload Cake.
What is worse is he had not missed one day of school this year and with 2 weeks left, he had to miss due to his hands and feet being so swollen.
I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware that the RED#40 blood test is not very accurate and I have discovered that alot of chocolate cakes contain Red #40.
I wasn’t aware there was a Red #40 blood test, but it doesn’t surprise me that it gives a false negative. Parents have to do what they believe is right to protect their kids, including what they ingest. Chocolate cake has been a culprit for us in the past as well. I’m thankful you discovered what it was!
We asked our doctor for a prescription Epi-pen because kiddo’s allergy is so bad, plus we keep prescription Atarax onhand as well.
Thanks for your post!
Wendy, who did your blood test? Ped or Allergist or other? My allergist hates that we use the word “allergic” his said it in an “intolerance”. Tomato – tomato to me.
Not that I need a test. We are certain he can’t ingest it.
Just wondering.
Thanks a million!
I am waiting for our US govt. to ban Red 40 and Red 40 Lake. I have been allergic to both since childhood. As a child, I would break out in hives all over from it. Now, as a 35 year old adult, my throat swells shut and I go into anaphylactic shock. One time I accidentally swallowed ONE pill that had 4 tiny letters in red printing with Red 40 Lake and I almost died. Literally. When will our government wake up? pheynix_risen @ yahoo.com if anyone wants to discuss things related to Red 40.
Great blog!
I recently was diagnosed with adult-onset of food allergies. Some have been a mere nuisance while others have been quite life-threatening.
Throughout this new ordeal, I have discovered that I’ve become “intollerant” or better put…allergic to food additives including, but not limited to artificial dyes.
I concur with my fellow sufferers that Red 40 is a scourge and without a doubt needs to be removed from allergy medicine. I too took allergy medicine with artificial dyes and my condition worsened. How ironic that it was the red and yellow dyes in the Benedryl that was making me more sick. Pathetic!
Keep spreading the word about artificial dyes. They have no place in much of what we consume.
In Feb 2009 my 7 yr old had an allergic reaction while drinking a purple gatorade. Last week he had a severe (ER visit) reaction while eating “birthday cake” flavored Blue Bell ice cream at a party.
The only common ingredients are Blue 1 and Red 40.
I know he ingested these dyes between Feb and July without issue (since I now know they are in everything).
Is a certain concentration of the dye required for a reaction?
The allergist totally dismissed the dye as an allergen which was very frustrating.
thanks for any info!
From our experience, most medical professionals dismiss any food dye as an allergen, despite evidence to the contrary.
For ourselves, when we realized kiddo was having problems, we pulled all of the red dye from his diet. In the beginning, he would ingest the dye several times before he had a reaction, leading me to think it builds up in the body over time before it “overloads”. Now, he reacts within hours of consuming red dye. His allergic reactions continue to worsen each time he’s exposed to it. We even asked our family doctor for an epi-pen prescription in the event he goes into anaphylactic shock.
I am not a doctor so cannot offer advice, but for us, we had to do what we felt was best for our child’s health, regardless of what the “professional opinion” was.
Arksoaper,
I think you spot-on in regards to the build-up in the body of these “toxins”. I was that way with both Yellow Dye #6 (Glasic Pickles” and potasium sorbate (A1 Steak Sauce). It wasn’t until my body reached a saturation point and then had a serious reaction.
Sometimes the warning signs can be subtle during the build-up process. That makes documenting reactions that much tougher.
Good idea on the Epi-Pen. I have one with me at all times. You just never know when the build-up is going to spill over into a full-blown anaphylactic event. It can, does, and will happen for those that are highly sensitive to artificial food dyes.
And from experience in ERs, having an Epi-Pen with you gets you placed at “the front of the line” so to speak in getting in. I’ve walked into ER’s with an Epi-Pen in my hand it gets the staff’s attention right quick.
I came across your page when I googled “allergies to red food dyes” My daughter is almost 2 and recently broke out with a rash on her face and her lips swelled a lot after she got my coffee creamer and drank some. After looking at the ingredients I noticed a dye on it, took about 6 hours and it was finally gone.. The next day she went to a friends house and had a yogurt and instantly the same thing happened… Again, dyes! So we bought a yogurt that had dye in it (I try my best to feed her all organic/natural stuff) And sure enough her cheeks sweeled and she got a rash.. I havent taken her to the doctors yet, just have to change her diet and make sure there is no artificial colors..
Thanks for writing this!
Just wondering what the difference is between red #40 and red #40 lake? After just 4 days of no red dye #40 we are noticing a huge difference in our 10 year old son. There were times I felt like I had two different kids in one. Allergies, headaches, hyperactivity, ADHD like actions… almost completely gone. It’s really too early to tell… but I think we have finally found out why! Thanks for the info!
The only difference between the two (as far as I can tell) is the lake dyes are not water soluble. Red #40 lake is on the banned list at our house.
I hope removing the dye from your son’s diet will continue to make a huge difference. Keep us posted!
What I find very interesting is that Red Dye #40 is banned in the UK. You will not find this artificial food colouring in any product that is created/shipped in Europe.
But OUR lovely FDA allows it to flow freely here in the US.
Just sayin’.
I could put wheels on that soapbox and drag it around everywhere! I’ve been saying this same thing for years. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
I believe the word is spreading faster and faster about Red 40. My wife and I have friends who took their daughter off of Red 40 foods after we told them about our daughter’s reaction to it and behold, their daughter was changed almost overnight. Furthermore, I have helped a friend of mine who had constant headaches. We talked about Red 40 and our children and he decided to take himself off of the menace. His headaches have almost disappeared?
As a child, my little body couldn’t handle red no 40 either.
just now i am realizing this.
I had HORRIBLE hives, it usually happened after i’d eat frozen pizzas, red candy, popsicles, and whatnot….RED food.
Holy cow.
My intuition told me to look it up this morning because
I am addicted to slimquick weightloss drink that has red no. 40 in it. i get horrible headaches everytime i drink them. and it’s a dark red powder, of course, red no. 40.
I feel like a lab rat in this country, mostly because doctors wont listen and the gov. knows what they are doing to the children, but they wont do anything about it.
DOWN WITH THE FDA!
I had to take my daughter to Children’s urgent care 2 days ago due to hives. I had no idea what caused it as she didn’t have anything new and she has never had hives before. Yesterday, she had a few new hives come up that were all gone by last night. Today, after giving her a Cinnamon Altoid, she immediately got a red rash on her cheek. I was thinking maybe cinnamon allergy but cinnamon is not an ingredient. Red 40 is though. She has had many, many foods with this dye before with no reaction. I will have to continue monitoring what she eats to see if she has a reaction.
Amen to feeling like a lab rat in the U.S. Except with lab rats, there is at least a decent chance that someone will record or pay attention to adverse effects. Like others, for years I had a chronic recurring rash problem with intense prickly all-over itching, skin swelling, and after especially bad episodes, I’d get growth discontinuites in my fingernails and toenails, and skin shedding in sheets off my palms and soles weeks later. (I even kept some of the skin, in case it might prove useful evidence someday.) Red Benadryl helped calm the itching for short periods, only for it to return with a vengeance. Alas, this was in the days before the internet, so it wasn’t until a friend mentioned his skin problems with the dyes in red socks that I got to wondering about all the red stuff I was consuming. Eliminating Red 40 cleared up all the rash and itching within two days, though the after-effects took much longer to grow out. I had one more bad episode which I was able to backtrack to Red 40 where I did not expect it. (I assumed it was only the red M&M’s which had red dye–turns out they ALL have it, in the chocolate insides). Doubting doctors have suggested this was all just a string of coincidences, but it sure seemed like straightforward cause and effect to me. So long as I avoid Red 40, I have no recurrence, but avoiding it can be quite a chore. It doesn’t help that manufacturers will sometimes use Red 40 without disclosing it (like the cherries in Del Monte fruit cocktail, labeled for years only as “colored cherries”). It was bad enough when I thought my Red 40 experience was some freak isolated case, but thanks to the internet, I’ve learned many others have had similar adverse reactions. But so long as the FDA remains a puppet of the food industries, I don’t think it will matter how many of us get burned by the chemicals they are literally trying to cram down our throats. The FDA will continue to insist there is no problem, and that all these synthetics are totally safe even for infants to consume. Thank goodness for blogs and forums like this. Even if the FDA has completely failed us, we at least have a shot at finding the information we need to protect ourselves.
Our son is now 8 and we were the ones that figured it out. He gets severe migraines and sick to his stomach. We delt with this since he was 18 months. The doctors made me feel like a crazy mom when I would tell them what was going on and what meds and foods he at those days. It was happening every other Wednesday and now looking back he does his fluoride swish at schools that day- red dye was in the flavor his school has. He is now been migraine/ sick free for 2 months now- cannot tell you the last time he has gone this long. I am now trying to find out the difference in the different red dyes. If anyone could give me a site to go to that would be wonderful. Glad I don’t feel like a crazy mom anymore!
Just a fair warning to anyone out there with pets. My friend’s cat lost a lot of fur because of good ole Red Lake 40. Is there anyway we can get the makers of Benedryl to stop putting dyes in their medication? I have tried Benedryl without dyes, but it has sorbitol in it and I cannot tolerate sorbitol.
I suffered from horrible migraines until I was 40 years and discovered I was allergic to Red # 40 – after eliminating it as well as I could from my diet – my migraines are completely gone – however, if I ingest some by accident I will have a visual disturbance that lasts up to 20 minutes and then a sever headache afterward – does anyone know if you are allergic to Red #40 – could you also have a bad reaction to the dye used in CT scans that is not colored?
Allergies to radio-opaque dyes and other contrast dues used for medical tests is related, but you may or may not have both kinds of reactions.
As a precaution, tell your medical team about your dye allergy when the test is scheduled. They will use an alternative contrast or no contrast at all, or they will be prepared in case you do have a reaction.
I just read your article and had a huge smile. I have the absolute same issue with my son, who recently started breaking out in hives, severe swelling, excema, nasal congestion, etc. These symptoms started while we were on vacation (my son is 7). He had a lot of kool aid and started breaking out in hives. We gave him Bendaryl and he got worse. The next morning his hands and feet were so swollen, we gave him children’s advil. He got worse. His lips and face started to swell, so we took him to the ER. I let them know that we gave him medicine and he continued go get worse. They told me that isn’t the problem. They gave him tylenol with codeine and a steroid shot, and watched him for 4 hrs. The hives barely went down, but they told us we could leave. For the next few days, he got really bad and we ended up going to the ER 3 more times. Each time, they told me to continue giving him the medicine but then he would get the symptoms again.
After a ton of research, I’ve found that Red 40 is in all of the medicines that they had given him, and in kool aid, his cereals and goldfish, etc. All of which he had consumed. So, he already had a reaction and the medicine made it worse.
We are seeing an allergist now and he tells me it’s not possible for someone to be allergic to Red 40 and he’s trying to put him on more medication. I started the new medicine and he broke out in a rash. I called the Dr. They didn’t want to see him, but said I should continue the medicine. I told them absolutely not. And, I also let them know I wanted him tested for Red 40. He said, Ma’am that’s not the problem. UGH! I let him know that I am cutting this out of his diet and I know I will have great results. It’s time for a new doctor!
I’m a 28 year old adult who came home from a birthday party at age 6, covered with hives and crying. I had drank the RED punch. I was having an asthma attack and my parents were frantic. My mother had narrowed my allergy down to sweets, but did not yet know it was an intollerance to Red Dye #40.
As I grew up with horrible eczema, the children at school teased me. But slowly we learned to use/not use certain soaps, detergents, bleach, lotion, make up… The older I got, the better I delt with my intolerances.
At age 20, I became allergic to strawberries. (Natural, grown in a farmer’s garden, undyed strawberries)
I loved living in Europe for a year. My allergies/intollerances were much easier to control with the higher volume of fresh foods in resturants and less fast or prepackaged foods in my diet.
And recently I started to think I may have an intollerance to Yellow #5, which my sister also has. The Yellow intolerance is not nearly as serious as the Red, but my lips keep swelling and sevearly chapping.
I wish the US would be proactly like other countries and outlaw all dyes. Thanks for having this blog!
Hi. Im 35 and was diagnosed with an allergy to red food dye as a child (age 7ish?) after breaking out in hives, just on my face, many times. Luckily for me I grew up with parents that were very ‘whole food’ type people in the 80s. We never drank soda or ate much candy, dinner was never from a box or can etc. In fact our entire family are all restaurant people-chefs, servers, bartenders, foodies in general-so it was actually quite easy to figure out what the allergy was. I’m pretty shocked to hear all the grief everyone has been given by doctors & pharmacists etc, considering this happened to me about 25 yrs ago.
Anyway, I eventually ‘grew out’ of my allergy. Though I was super cautious, I didn’t have a prob into my teens at all…until my senior yr in hs when away for a weekend school retreat I broke out in face covering hives that looked like I had been boiled (as another poster commented) I got steroids for it and it disappeared in nearly 24 hrs.
I haven’t had a prob since. I am very cautious of what I eat in general but especially when it comes to artificially colored foods. Just want to thank to all for commenting-its nice to know there are people out there that can relate. I don’t have kids yet but I can only imagine the help that a support group can offer. Thanks!
I had anaphylactic reaction to Minute Maid fruit punch about 15 years ago and ended up in the hospital. At the time my throat swelled up and I had hives from head to toe. We tried to narrow down what I had eaten and the doctor just told me to be cautions when I ate any of the same things again. Well it only took a few days because I had a sip of Minute Maid fruit punch a few days later and the reaction was instant. I called the doctor and he suggected it was the red food dye. I wrote to Minute Maid and never heard anything back but lo and behold, a few weeks later… no more red food dye or other artificial colours. I avoid all artificial colours, flavours and sweetners. I realize that many of them are poison to the body.
I am 63 years old. I have gone to allergists all of my life and have never been warned of red dye #40. I knew there were medications that I did not get along with. Guess what? These medications had red#40 in them. I realized that it was probably the red dye when I took some acetominophen with coloring in it and had a horrible reaction.
Three days ago I was given Nexium. I had it in my file at the pharmacy about red dye. Well, it snuck through because Nexium does not give much information to pharmacists. After being on the phone with Astrazeneca (makers of Nexium), they hopefully will put this in big print from now on.
I now have to list this as a deadly allergy for myself. These are the side effects I had. I felt like I had swallowed a bunch of sleeping pills, highly nervous, throat was real tight with phlegm building up, crying, stomach cramps, gas, burping, nausea, felt like I was spinning out of control, a bad pain between the shoulder blades, and a glaze over my eyes. As I called the pharmacy, I popped Benadryl. Ha! It had red #40. Then I called the makers of Nexium.
I saw my regular doctor and then saw my allergist since that attack.
I was scared that I was dying! I remember saying while going through it, that I would rather die than feel this bad! I do think we have to go after the government to stop some of these dyes and additives from being put in food.
By the way…. I have had migraines my whole life. Guess what causes migraines?!
My friend forwarded me the link to this site when I told her tonight that we had narrowed our 16 month old sons allergic reactions to Red Dye #40. After 4 pretty bad reactions, (swelling, hot, huge hives anywhere the food touched) and me writing down all the ingredients in whatever he ate that was a new item, Red Dye #40 was the only one on all 4 lists. (Red jello, Orange Jello, Popsicles and Raspberry Sherbert) I never realized that it was this common of an allergy. Thank you for your article. It really helpd me out.
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Anytime I consume too much of Red Dye #40, I have serious flares in my rosacea and cold-like systems. This info has been very helpful and I wish more people realized that a lot of these food dyes are absolutely horrid. As a kid, I would always say I couldn’t drink the red punch because it made me sick, and people looked at me like was nuts. Now, 10 years later, it all makes sense…
That’s the same with me .
This is my daughter’s story as well! Shame on the FDA!
My son just had a severe reacion to red dye #40. I’m looking for dye free Benadrill and I can’t find any. I was told that J&J had something wrong with production. I went to call the company but they were closed for the day. The only dye free option was a gel tablet that my young son wouldn’t be able to swallow. Any suggestions for other options avaliable?
Look for a generic version. For example, Walgreens has a Benadryl generic called Wal-dryl, and they have a clear version. I just had to buy some yesterday.
You can get dye free generic Benadryl from Rite Aid.
My Daughter is 2 she had a rash on her bottom that wasnt going away. I took her to the doctors and they sasid it was a yeast infection. They gave her medicine and it would go away. I took her back because it wasnt clearing up and the doctor saw a spot on her leg and said it was exzma I know that the spot on her leg was a bug bite. I said no thats a bug bite she said I know exzma when I see it. The rash then spread to her face so it only on her face and bottom. I took her back and said it was getting worse and Im afraid of her face scaring. They said that exzma was something we would constantly fight with. I called a few days latter and requested a referal to a dermintologist. By the time we got to our appointment she was starting to clear up of course the dermintologist said it was exzma. I asked why it was only around her mouth and on her bottom. They said it was a type of exzma that only happens on the face and private areas. Her dad and I starting thinking about what she was eating and when she 1st broke out. We have 4 bithdays really close from nov to feb then theres thanksgiving christmas newyears she 1st broke out the day after her brothers birthday. After having cake with 4 birthdays and holdiays we had cake like allot. so we thought keep her away from cake icing and her face started clearing up. Then it would break out and I would see what she ate for the day. One morning she had a cup of milk and cheese stick. Then we went to town she want a twinkie snack and I gave her one not long after she was starting to get red I looked at the box and sure enough twinkies have red dye 40 I tried to wash her face good and put some lotion on it and it healed up. Then the next day I thought I kept all red dye 40s off her but that night she broke out real bad all around her mouth so I started looking on line for foods with red dye 40 and sure enough she had a lunchable With chocolate pudding. I thought crackers cheese and ham no problem. When I took eveything out there wasnt anything writen on the pudding container such as calories or ingredients so I didnt think about it. This is where we are at now trying to keep red dye 40 off her she loves lucky charms no more, Its going to be so hard its in everything. I really need to get her cleared up though.
I am in the process of figuring out what is causing my 5yr old’s angry outbursts & mood swings. I have only recently taken her off sugar & have noticed a big change but after doing my own research, i am realizing that it could very well be that she is no longer eating all those foods with the dye either. So I am trying to figure out now if it is in fact the sugar or the dye.
Oh yeeaah, I am 25 now and when I was three, my mom finally figured out that every time my brother and I drank coolaid or ate something very colorful that we would literally run into all the walls in the house by accident and my brother had daily horrible nosebleeds! She put us on a diet free of all artificial colors but particularly the RED and the BLUE and no artificial flavors if it could be avoided too. Made a world of a difference, and it also instilled really good eating habits into me since I was only three. Back then… Ocean spray made a hard candy, so that and most chocolates were usually okay for us to have. Although, our reactions weren’t as bad as some of ya’lls… it was enough to do something about it. I did notice the running into walls thing did come back when I was a teenager and the “diet” was not enforced anymore. I still do it sometimes when I’m half asleep and I am bad about eating popsicle brand popsickles so… well… at least i like salads and fruits and know what my culprits are… I just happen to not be good about tracking and avoiding them. BTW, I’d like to also add and let your children know this… I never had ONE cavity until I started eating crappy junkfood fairly regularly because of the college lifestyle. They are very unpleasant to deal with. I have a coworker who told me this a few days ago too: our albuterol inhalers are cavity culprits too….. if you don’t rinse your mouth out immediately after using albuterol… it eats up the enamel on your teeth! I didn’t have asthma til I was 19 so the combination of the two really is eating my teeth quickly. At least they are all still there… for now.
I was so amazed to read these posts. My daughter also vomits after eating or drinking anything red, It started when she was younger, she is almost ten now. I eliminated all red things from her diet but not thinking introduced them again. I try to be careful with what she eats and drinks but I never thought to read the labels because even if it doesn’t appear red in color that it can still have red dye in it. I now know to be more careful.
I am 29 and an identical twin. We both started having severe allergic reactions when we were in college. Fortunately our parternal grandmother had figured out the Red 40 allergy and we were able to understand our allergy a bit more and stay away from Red 40. Since then it seems I’m also allergic to other dyes and I pretty much stay away from processed food now. I live overseas in developing countries and love it because of the lack of dyes in the food. Everytime I come back to the US I have some sort of food allergy.
FYI: I have been allergic to red food dye for my whole life (I’m 45 now.) It took forever to figure it out, but by the time I was a teenager, we knew that red dye for me equals a migraine wherein I lose sight in my right eye and I vomit uncontrollably, and I invariably have to go to the emergency room.
Posters who have recounted people not believing there can be an allergy to food dyes are right. Too many people think they “know better” than you do about what makes you sick. But ignore the ignorance, and be ruthless in making them listen (especially uninformed doctors and nurses.) Allergic reactions are cumulative. What makes you only itch and swell today tomorrow could kill you.
I have been noticing that everytime I drink I red punch or eat something red, my tonsils swell up really bad causing flu like symptons. I was trying to soothe my throat and went to spray some antiseptic spray and it contained the Red Dye #40 and my tonsils swelled up even worse.
My daughter has a severe reaction to Red dyes as well. It took a lot of process of elimination. We carry a Epi pen incase. I want to get her tested for the red dye allergy. Do you know what test to ask for? Her reactions range from GI to Hives coughing fatigue. I would like to know which of the dyes she is allergic to. I wasnt sure it was red or blue since the worse was a purple snow cone. But when she had a red Gatoraide she had hives with facial and tongue swelling.
So red it was!
Nicole
Unless they have changed things, we were told they do not test for specific dyes in food. After dealing with many doctors over the years, I can tell all of you this – if your doctor does not believe the red dye can cause this type of reaction, CHANGE DOCTORS.
Sorry…wasn’t sure I was logged in before. Good info about Red Day 40. I’ve just been having issues when consuming it.
Hi, i am also allergic to red 40, i have been since i was a little girl and i am now an adult. when i was little i would break out in the bad hives from head to toe, now as an adult i get a really bad stomach achs and bad diahrrea. i try to avoid it at all cost but the other day i baught vanilla cupcake goldfish for my 15 month old daughter, had two of them and little did i know they had red 40 in them. my husband and i both have to watch lables very carefully and its not easy finding things with out it in it. i believe the fda should band it from the north america, my nephews are too very sensitive to it as well.
Red 40 is nasty stuff. My kids aren’t “allergic” to it, but they act crazy when they eat/drink it. I’ve found that a balanced diet, especially something with a high dose of protein (meats) and water or milk works well in calming them down.
I tell everyone I can about the adverse effects and I do get the “your nuts” look a lot.
I am also allergic to red dye. But I’m not sure what red dye it is. All I know is that I get really sick like i throw up alot anytime I have anything with red dye in it. Like everything now a days has red due in it. Even hot dogs have red dye in it. But how did you find out exactly what red due it was?? Because there are quite a few like red#4 and others I see a couple more too
And I can’t eat or drink anything that has orange, pink or purple either. There’s a lot of things I can’t have
Lauren – some brands of hot dogs do not contain red dye. Always read your labels. We found out what our son was allergic to by process of elimination. When he had kool-aid with red #40, he would break out in hives horribly. We found out some of his prescription meds had red #40 in them as well. Keeping a food journal can help pinpoint the culprit.
As an adult I am having issues… I had a sweet and sour sauce with red dye… not sure which one but I can’t stop crying and upset today… very overwhelming feeling. I don’t think this is just a child issue!
My son is very allergic to the dye. I am having a huge problem with people at school giving my child red 40. Not only did his Doctor say he can’t have it in the medical info chart I have notified them with follow up notes another Drs note several phone calls directly spoke to his teacher and everything, yet they still are giving it to him. Needless to say not only I beyond anger I am concidering getting a lawyer to sue the school district for violating Drs orders. My son has been in school about 2 months and has been fed this stuff over a dozen times. Does anyone know if I have the right to sue them? Its not that I want money I just want them to stop!!!
I to am allergic to the red dye 40. I am 70 years old. Just found out what was tba cause of my blisters.