Living with a chocolate allergy may be harder than you would think. First, you need to know if you are allergic to. Is it the chocolate or one of the other ingredients in the chocolate product? If you are allergic to the chocolate it is most likely that the cocoa bean is causing the allergic reaction.

Either way, you need to learn how to live with a chocolate allergy. If your allergy does indeed come from the cocoa, you need to avoid foods containing any cocoa. This means anything chocolate. It will also mean avoiding any foods that have cocoa as an ingredient such as liquors, cakes, candies and everything else that is made with cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder.

Learning how to live with a chocolate allergy might also include looking for chocolate-based foods that substitute carob for the cocoa. Before choosing foods that contain the carob, you should talk with your doctor and make sure you are not allergic to this as well.

Take an allergy to find out

The way to find out if it is a cocoa allergy or an allergy to an ingredient in the chocolate is to have a skin test performed. Once you know for sure, you can use preventive measures to assure you do not have an allergic reaction.

Prevention is the best way to learn how to live with a chocolate allergy. Once you know for sure it is a cocoa allergy, you need to avoid foods that contain this ingredient. Check the labels of everything you eat or drink. This will eliminate possible reactions.

I am having an allergic reaction, what should I do?

There are a variety of over the counter and prescription medications that can be used to treat an allergic reaction. What you use highly depends on how severe your allergy is.

For a mild allergic reaction an over the counter antihistamine should be sufficient to treat the symptoms. If you have a very acute reaction you may need to use a prescription antihistamine, corticosteroid, bronchodilator or epinephrine pen to treat the allergic reaction. Chocolate allergy treatments are useful and should be kept on hand in case you consume cocoa without knowing.

Learning to live with a chocolate allergy might seem harder if you love the smell of sweets. You can substitute other sweets for a sugar fix. Some people can eat small amounts of chocolate without any type of reaction. If you are one of these people, you have to watch how much you eat in any given time frame.

There are ways to avoid chocolate and enjoy eating; you just have to be careful what it is you eat. If something looks good at a restaurant, you may have to ask before ordering if it contains cocoa. This is important when ordering desserts from anywhere.

willhelm at allergyanswersguide.com

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