Contact soy allergy...(long)

I just want to whine a bit.
I've known for a while that I can't drink soy milk without getting an itchy throat. I've never had edamame, and I steer clear of it just to make sure. Anything that's been cooked or fermented is fine, so I can eat tofu, miso and soy sauce with no problem.

Now I think I've developed a contact allergy to soy. I've to Starbucks, and occasionally ended up with a nasty swollen thumb and index finger of whatever hand I've been holding the cup in. It's happened three times, and before today, it was only with cold drinks. Today I used my own mug. The only thing I can think of it being is traces of soy milk on the outside of the cup. Three different drinks. It's not the coffee or milk--the majority of the time I can get a cup of coffee or a frappucino and be fine, and I have milk at home with no problem. It was also worse on the hand I carried my drink in than the one I carried DBF's in, and the barista prepared mine first.

Damn. Cold drinks, I can just grab a sleeve (which has the bonus of eliminating the numb fingers problem). I guess I'm going to have to stick with paper cups on the hot drinks or wipe down my travel mug beforehand. Or I could give up Starbucks, but I'm not sure I want to do that just yet.

Have you been tested? Probably a good idea in order to rule out other issues.

As for Starbucks, can you just make your own coffee? Then you won't have to worry about it, and you'll save alot of money, too.

You probably ought to be tested to rule out something else. Soy milk is cooked... the beans are crushed and boiled. It's actually the first step to making tofu - The beans are crushed and boiled and the resulting soy milk is then coagulated with a salt. That you can eat tofu and be OK, but not have soymilk is suspicious that it might be something else entirely - perhaps something that is added to the soymilk you've had.

Starbucks is now selling the reusable frap cups now. I found them over the summer, but noticed they're back I'm stores with the Christmas display.

I'd second the testing to see what exactly it was your having a reaction to, so you can steer clear. At this point your really guessing, even if it is an educated guess, a guess is still a guess.

Shannon

Maybe something in the packaging? It could be the soy milk container rather than the contents and whatever it is could also be in the disposable cups.

Yeah, if tofu doesn't give you any trouble, it can't be the soy.

Are you talking about commercial soy milk or homemade? The packaged stuff has all kinds of additives - not necessarily anything bad per se, but ingredients you could be sensitive to. Do you react the same to all brands?

I have a similar issue with peanuts, actually. I can't eat raw peanuts, under-roasted ones or "natural" peanut butter without having some discomfort (but nothing like this!) Sufficiently roasted peanuts or Jif I have no problems with. (You can all hang me now for eating Jif.):p

The only soy milk-based drink I've had was the Bolthouse Farms vanilla chai stuff, and I've stayed away from drinking soy milk since then--again, that was the only thing I could think of. I don't know what brand Starbucks uses--I want to say Silk, but I don't know for sure.

Malkin--that was my mom's initial suspicion, but since it doesn't happen every time I get cold drinks, and the last time it happened I used my own cup, it's unlikely.

I went on a short, cold ride with DBF today. I got back in the nice, warm car and my fingers swelled up. So it's a reaction to getting cold. Makes sense, as the first two times it happened, I got cold drinks, and the third time, I was wearing fingerless gloves and carrying two very cold metal travel mugs, and my fingers swelled up once I got inside the apartment.

Sigh. Now I just need to figure out why my fingers are swelling up in the cold.