Whether it is kissing casually after greeting someone or kissing more intimately, kissing can trigger a possible allergic reaction if you are sensitive to a food or even a cosmetic or skin allergen.
Let’s start at the beginning. How does this happen? First one needs to be sensitive to the allergen at hand (a food allergy to nuts for example). One of the more common food allergens in adults, adolescents and children are peanuts and nuts. Recent studies have looked at how long it generally takes for an allergen such as peanut to be transmitted via oral and mouth contact to another individual. It may take as much as 4 hours for the speck of peanut to finish being passed to another person or mouth!
Another occurrence may be seen by contact to a specific skin allergen (preservative, fragrance in a cosmetic used on or around the mouth and face). If you have a localized contact allergy to a specific skin allergen it may, although rarely, be transmitted to another individual who may have an allergic contact allergy to this substance. I had a patient who developed hives after exposure to her husband’s shaving cream that incidentally was loaded with nut oils. Let’s look at more intimate way a person might be allergic to love.
Many couples utilize a latex condom which can provoke a localized or generalized allergic reaction if you are sensitive to latex rubber. A woman can even develop an allergic reaction to her partner’s sperm containing seminal fluid, inducing localized swelling, hives, and itchiness after lovemaking; fortunately this is a rare problem. The tipoff that you may be allergic to your partner’s seminal fluid is resolution of all symptoms with the use of a condom.
And lastly, if you have sensitive skin, strong colognes, fragrances, scented cosmetics and facial products may irritate you after contact with any of those just mentioned. The irritation may present similar to those of eczema or rosacea. Sunlight may even make these symptoms worse for those who are “photosensitive” and therefore might develop a sunburn-like rash as a result of a combination of exposure to sun and the aforementioned products. In many cases unscented skin care products may be beneficial if you have sensitive skin.
If you have allergies, specifically those to a variety of common foods (including peanuts and other nuts) use caution before your next kiss!
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