The go-to drug for treating a severe allergic reaction is diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl. Unfortunately, there is no corn-free version of this drug available off the shelf. Benadryl dye-free liquigels contain sorbitol from corn. Benadryl children’s liquid formula contains glycerin and sucrose from corn. Many generic store-brand versions of Benadryl, such as Wal-dryl, contain corn starch. All of these are derivatives that would send me to the hospital, especially if I were already reacting when I took them.
The only way to get truly corn-free Benadryl at this time is to get it made specially for you by a compounding pharmacy. This isn’t a post on how to do that, but there is a very nice blog post on getting medications compounded on the News For Corn Avoiders blog. Here are my additional notes on compounding medications and here is some advice on finding a compounding pharmacy.
Another possibility, though it requires a prescription, would be to get a prescription for an injectable version of Benadryl, and then drink it.This is an off-label usage but I am told it works just fine and will be relatively corn free. (It is in water though so if you react to some waters it may not be 100% safe for you.) Always check ingredients. There are probably several versions of the injectable Benadryl and all of them may not be corn free.
When I got my first Benadryl prescription compounded, I spent 30 minutes on the phone with the pharmacist deciding on ingredients used in my prescription. The pharmacist assured me that the microcrystalline cellulose they used for a filler in capsules was corn free. It was not. I got $50 worth of pills I reacted to worse than the corny off the shelf meds, and they wouldn’t take them back or give me my money back. I had very very recently gotten much more sensitive to corn products at that time, and was reacting constantly so feeling very sick and muddled while trying to hold down a full time job, and just did not have the mental energy to get it done right. I just gave up on getting medications compounded.
But I had to have something for reactions. Fortunately, I was still able to take one version of over the counter Benadryl and have it do more good than harm. While I am not *the most* sensitive corn allergic person in the world, I am pretty sensitive, and my reactions are pretty dramatic. However there are some derivatives I react to less than others.
This stuff has *lots* of corn ingredients, but for me the derivatives are ones that don’t cause huge reactions:
Alka-Seltzer Plus Allergy. Active ingredient: diphenhydramine hcl 25mg. Inactive ingredients: croscarmellose sodium, D&C red #27 aluminum lake, dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, talc, titanium dioxide.
I also found this”sleep aid” which is actually benadryl- the inactive ingredient, diphenhydramine, and the dosage, 25mg, is the same ingredient and dosage as benadryl.
Walgreens Sleep II Nightime Sleep Aid. Active ingredient: diphenhydramine hcl 25mg. Inactive Ingredients: Croscarmellose Sodium, Dicalcium Phosphate, FD&C Blue #1 Aluminum Lake, Magnesium Stearate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Silicon Dioxide, Stearic Acid
Both of these products still have a number of ingredients that could be (and often are) from corn. I’ve bolded them. They are definitely *not* corn free. It is the same drug as Benadryl, just a different brand. When I was VERY desperate, I was able to take them for reactions and they helped more than they harmed. I would definitely feel some reaction right when I took them, but once they kicked in the antihistamine effect would overtake the reaction.
Getting compounded Benadryl made a world of difference though- it works faster and leaves me feeling much less hung over. A good portion of the effectiveness of the drug was previously being spent on counteracting the corn in the pills themselves.
But if you are ever in a very bad spot, you may find that there are some versions of the drug off the shelf that you can tolerate enough to help you out when you are reacting severely.
Note that which version will work best for you will depend heavily on what derivatives bug you. The liquigels contain sorbitol, so are a bad choice for me as sorbitol in toothpaste sent me to the ER once. Granted the quantity in the liquigels is probably small but I just skipped it because of the toothpaste reaction. Others may do better with that tiny amount of sorbitol versus the inactive ingredients in the product pictured above. Please choose carefully, use good sense, and consult your physician.
For those that are allergic to benadryl (this does happen), another option is hydroxyzine hcl (atarax) or hydroxyzine pamoate (vistaril). Atarax is more commonly prescribed for allergies, Vistaril is more commonly prescriped for anxiety. Both forms help both allergy and anxiety. They also are comparably as strong of antihistamines as benadryl. They do tend to sedate more then benadryl, but not everyone experiences this. Hydroxyzine is prescription only. You would need to either get it compounded or identify a brand and manufacturer that does not contain corn, or does not contain *much* corn. You can use these instructions for finding the inactive ingredients of medications to try to identify something that might be safe.
Corn Allergy Girl 
I don’t know if you have figured this out on your own but I believe what people are truly reacting to is the pesticide residue in the corn. If one embarks on a totally organic diet, (and chemical free house) most allergic reactions subside over time. Glyphosate, Atrazine and over 40 others http://www.pesticideinfo.org/DS.jsp?sk=29119 Initially, the body recognizes the entire corn kernel as toxic and reacts to it. But once the pesticides (allergens) are removed by eating organic food, the allergic reaction to the corn kernel begins to subside. There are multiple pesticides entering the body from multiple sources with synergistic reactions that have not been studied. Your web site is the BEST and so helpful. Thank you very much for your work!!
I’ve heard similar about wheat. I know that some people seem to be able to eat when in Europe but not here and the hypothesis is that it’s due to the glyphosate being sprayed all over the wheat to make it easier to machine harvest. That sounds like it could be a reasonable supposition for some people with corn allergy, but not most.
I am in contact with many dozens of people who have eaten chemical and pesticide free for years or decades with nothing but strengthening allergic reactions to corn. If you’ve read this blog at all then you know I am one of those people that has had to eat 100% local, only completely spray free and not just organic (which can involve certified organic sprays) and have done so for many years.
I definitely am still allergic to corn, and I am still allergic to organic no-spray corn, as I have severe airborne reactions to the stuff sold at the farmers market. I know that corn is spray free as I have frequent contact with the vendors and have done farm visits with many of them.
I do think that there is a definite connection between corn being such a prevalent and high-use crop and the increase in corn allergies, but I think it has more to do with it being *in* everything and the repeated exposure causing more and more sensitivity and cross-reactions. I don’t think it’s as simple as a pesticide exposure, and I definitely haven’t seen that simply avoiding the pesticide helps.
Helpful article. Thank you.
Wanted to let you know that there is an “a” in the link you posted “http://no-corn.blogsapot.com/2008/10/getting-medications-compounded.html” which breaks the link. It’s just “blogspot” no “a.”
Thanks again.
Thanks! It’s fixed!
You bet. Can I message a question to you?
Yeah, you can use the “ask corn allergy girl” link at the top, or you can just email me at corn allergy girl at gmail dot com, but without any spaces and with actual punctuation instead of words. 🙂
THANK YOU for your blog/web page 💗💞💖✌
Thank you. I’m itching just reading all the information. People don’t understand how alert you become to the symptoms once you cut corn out of your diet.
I am a nurse treating elementary kids, I have a corn free dye free child who uses Genexa brand Benadryl (you can find it on amazon). The only ingredients are organic agave syrup, citrus extract, purified water and diphenhydramine HCl. The medication is gluten free and vegan. Genexa has a line of medications that might be helpful and they are made from limited ingredients which are all disclosed.
Woah! Thank you for this!
Agave nectar is pretty iffy for a lot of highly sensitive corn allergy folks- something about how it’s processed tends to cause issues. But this is definitely a good-looking option for a number of people! I am emailing the company to get details on what exactly they mean by “citrus extract” though, as that can be an ethanol or corn glycerin extractive. Very cool though.
Hello I have been trying to leave a note here and it’s just not working! But here’s hoping it does this time. I cannot begin to thank you enough for this post! Actually, for your whole blog but especially for this post right now! I too have a lot of trouble dealing with the crazy world we live in. Some people call it Environmental Illness or Multiple Chemical Sensitivities the American Medical Association now admits it exists, and they call it Toxic Encephalopathy which is a mouthful! I just tell people I’m Allergic to the 21st century! 🙂
I too in one of those people who are allergic to corn. Not the way you are! Oh my goodness! But to the point where I am very careful about what medications I take and what food I eat! For the first time I have found out that I’m actually allergic to Mother Nature! Springtime in Kentucky is not a healthy thing for me. I do not consider corn to be from Mother Nature because man has messed around with it so much it’s no longer a food. But I was trying to find an allergy medication that did not have corn or one of its derivatives in it and I came across your blog and I’m just so grateful for it! You have given me a lot of good information, and you have saved me from a huge search! I’ve already copied the link and sent it to my doctor in hopes that we can come up with some kind of answer that’s not too costly. Thank you again!
Hey there! I have comment approval on, but I don’t see any other comments from you besides this one! So I think there’s something going on between your browser and wordpress AND the fact that I have approval on isn’t helping you.
I have not yet found a corn free OTC benadryl and get that one compounded although I use it only at great need because it interacts with my blood disorder for non-corn reasons. The name brand xyzal is actually safe for me for daily meds- that checks out because it was before it was on generic, but for some reason I didn’t think to try it for some time after it became OTC. My main strong h1 antihistamine is hydroxyzine hcl, and that does have some non-compound versions that seem like they could be safe but being sure you’re getting a specific manufacturer can be really, really hard.
Hello! I am so glad to see that you are still out here doing your thing! It was something to do with my login and once I changed my password and logged in then it let me post so there was something weird going on there with WordPress.
I cannot begin to thank you enough for this information and for the extra information you’re posting out here in the comments. I will be talking about it with my dr! I see her on Thursday. Which should be interesting but I’m going to wear a mask to get into town and hopefully it won’t hit me too hard. I get these terrible breathing issues. I called them my little episodes and they’re quite rude. I just get to where I can’t breathe and I have to stop and stand still and try to get my breath back but this last time I didn’t get back inside before it happened, then it’s a real problem.
Part of this is just because of my history I am certain. I wound up with Guillain Barre from my first and last flu shot so my lung capacity is pretty diminished. It has gotten a little better over the years but I’m only up to about 50% of my capacity. Anything that messes with my lungs can really mess with me!
I have a friend who also has hypermobility so I was reading your post about that so I could learn more about her world and I was kind of startled to realize that when I got down to your note that said it’s not just about your joints. I never considered myself to be double jointed or have any special movement things. I mean I could skin the cat as a child but I think every child can do that! However when it came to that internal list I qualified for almost every single one of those. That was kind of spooky! I may ask my doctor about that too. I sent my friend the link and she has also signed up to follow your blog!
Thank you again! Thank you so much for all of the work that you’ve done collecting information about corn!
Leave it to me to make an oops in my world. Somehow, I remembered the term Zyrtec and that’s what I’ve been trying the last few days but it’s causing alimentary distress. So I’m hoping I can get it changed over to the Xyzal. Like you I have a lot of other issues going on so I kind of have to run everything past my dr first but hopefully this will be okay.
I also wanted to ask you about organic spraying? I saw in one note that you only buy food that hasn’t been sprayed on at all and I was wondering if that might be why I’m having trouble with some of my organic vegetables these days. It never occurred to me that there would be organic sprays that are “acceptable”. If you have a post about that I would love to read it.