Sweating is not a common symptom for a food allergy. If you develop sweating after eating walnuts, you may be experiencing a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is an extreme, entire body allergic reaction that can cause complications to your health and even death. If you notice that when you eat walnuts you begin to sweat, feel lightheaded and can't catch your breath, you need to stop eating walnuts and call your doctor immediately. If you've been diagnosed with an allergy to another tree nut, you have a greater chance of developing an allergy to walnuts, according to Kids Health.
Walnut Allergy
According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, about 1.8 million people in the United States are allergic to at least one kind of tree nut. Tree nut allergies are commonly associated with severe allergic reactions. A walnut allergy occurs when your immune system mistakes the proteins in the tree nut as unsafe. The immune system reacts to the walnut proteins as if they are going to hurt the body, so it creates antibodies to fight off the proteins. The release of these antibodies causes histamine and other chemicals to be released into the bloodstream, leading to most walnut allergy symptoms.
Sweating
A severe allergic reaction to walnuts can cause you to sweat, along with other cardiovascular, respiratory and skin reactions. You may feel your heart rate increasing, your blood pressure dropping and you may become lightheaded. If you develop shortness of breath, hives, facial swelling or feel like you have a lump in your throat, you need to call 911 for emergency medical attention. Sweating is only associated with anaphylaxis and is not a common symptom of a walnut allergy.
Treatment
If you're experiencing anaphylaxis, your body will go into a state of shock and begin shutting down some of your organs, which can lead to death. The most effective treatment for this type of reaction is an injection of epinephrine, according to MayoClinic.com. Epinephrine is available with a prescription from your doctor or is administered by emergency medical personnel. If you need to inject yourself, you still need to go to the emergency room because the drug will only alleviate symptoms for up to 15 minutes.
Prevention
All packaged foods are required by the government to disclose the use of all highly allergic foods, including tree nuts. Read the ingredients and allergy warnings on all products before consuming them to avoid a severe allergic reaction. Aside from avoiding walnuts, there is no other way to prevent an allergic reaction.
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