Woman develops mysterious nut allergy after sex, what's the real cause?
Among the many food allergies, nut allergies in particular are one of those that can cause severe anaphylactic shock with a surprisingly small amount of nut ingredients, and there are
Dangerous liaison: sexually transmitted allergic reaction to Brazilian nuts - PubMed
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17583107/
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman's nut allergy was triggered after sex | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/health/diagnostic-dilemma-a-womans-nut-allergy-was-triggered-after-sex
In a 2007 case report titled 'Dangerous liaison: sexually transmitted allergic reaction to Brazil nuts,' doctors at the Immunology Department of St. Helier Hospital in the UK described the case of a woman who developed hives all over her body after having sex with a man.
The woman, who was 20 years old at the time, had unprotected sex with her boyfriend and immediately afterwards developed swelling and itching of her vulva and genitals, angioedema and hives all over her body, mild breathing difficulties, and confusion.
The doctors who examined the woman prescribed
Fortunately, nothing serious happened, but the problem is what caused these allergic symptoms. The woman had been diagnosed with a severe Brazil nut allergy when she was around 18 years old, so she had not eaten Brazil nuts since then. In addition, allergy tests for peanuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts came back negative, but just to be on the safe side, she avoided eating these nuts altogether. Therefore, the cause of the woman's allergic symptoms was unknown at first.
On the other hand, the man had eaten Brazil nuts 2-3 hours before sex, but he was well aware of the woman's allergies and had taken a bath after the meal, thoroughly washed under his fingernails, and brushed his teeth. This means that it is highly unlikely that pieces of Brazil nuts or food particles were left on the man's hands or in his mouth. The woman had no symptoms on her lips or inside her mouth, which supports the idea that the initial allergic reaction was localized.
Based on this history, doctors believed that 'it is possible that allergy-inducing proteins from Brazil nuts could be absorbed into the body of a woman from a man through sexual intercourse,' so they conducted allergy tests using the man's semen.
The women were given two patch tests: one immediately after eating four Brazil nuts, and the other two and a half hours after eating them. The second test resulted in a 0.28 inch (7 mm) swelling on the skin.
This suggests that Brazil nut allergens in the men's semen were the cause of the women's allergic reactions.
Based on the test results, doctors advised the woman to keep antihistamines and
Brazil nut allergy is the second most common food allergy in the UK, and it is common for people with food allergies to have an allergic reaction when touched or kissed by someone who has eaten, drunk or handled these foods, but most cases are thought to be caused directly by transfer of allergens from hands or saliva through contact.
On the other hand, cases like this one, in which 'food-derived proteins were secreted into semen and then transferred through sexual intercourse, causing an indirect allergic reaction,' are extremely rare.
'We believe this is the first known case of a sexually transmitted allergic reaction,' the doctors wrote in their case report.
The woman and man broke up shortly after the incident, so further analysis could not directly confirm that Brazil nut ingredients were present in the man's semen, which the doctors lamented as 'disappointing.'
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