Those who suffer from allergies know how awful they can be. Itchy, watery eyes and a nose that won’t stop running doesn’t quite cover it—if your allergy is intense enough, contact with something you can’t tolerate can lead to anaphylaxis, something much more serious than a sneezing fit.

Allergies might seem like an unfair part of life that only affects regular, non-famous people, but many celebrities quietly suffer from allergies too, unbeknownst to their hordes of fans. You might not have known that the following celebrities are allergic to particular things, which could end up affecting their lives pretty dramatically if they’re not careful.

To accommodate to their allergies, some of these celebrities have to be extremely careful with what they eat, avoiding things like gluten, eggs or shellfish. Some have to keep an eye on what they wear, what animals they touch, what scent their candles have, and even what they get up to in their spare time. For some of these stars, something as simple as spraying a puff of perfume or sliding into a public pool could end up being toxic.

Read on to find out which of your favorite stars suffer from allergies and how they avoid them at all costs.

16 Whatever You Do, Don't Buy Ariana Grande A Pet Kitten

Without wanting to sound over-dramatic, we think that being allergic to cats would be one of the worst things that could happen to you. Imagine never cuddling up with a kitten, falling asleep to the sound of purring and stroking your favorite feline friend! Unfortunately, this is a reality for Ariana Grande. She’s lucky she has a whole bunch of dogs to keep her company!

In the past, the singer has revealed that she is allergic to cats, in addition to some cough medicines, bananas, and shellfish. So not only has her life been robbed of felines, but there also can’t be any banana milkshakes, banana bread, banana sundaes, banana pudding, banana on toast, and every other wonderful thing made possible with the magic of bananas. Yikes.

15 Prince William Loves Polo, But Kate Middleton Is Allergic To Horses

Being allergic to horses would be a bigger deal for some than for others. If you live in the city and only have anything to do with the magnificent creatures when you see them on television, it probably wouldn’t change your life. But if you spend copious amounts of time at lavish country estates, and your husband has an affinity for polo, an allergy to horses would be rather annoying.

Kate Middleton has a unique allergy to horses, and any contact with them reportedly causes her to sneeze uncontrollably. The Duchess is said to be spending more time around the animals and dealing with her allergies accordingly, so she can join her family at her husband’s polo matches, and at other royal events where horses will inevitably show up.

14 Britney Spears Won't Ever Be Queen Bee, And It Has Nothing To Do With Beyoncé

Bee stings aren’t great, whether you’re allergic to them or not. If you aren’t allergic, they’re painful and unsightly. But if you are allergic, then they might end up being deadly, depending on the severity of your allergy. Pop princess Britney Spears is one person allergic to bee stings and proves that no amount of fame, money or talent can change it.

It’s been reported that when Britney is stung by a bee, she can break out into hives. In some cases, bee stings can cause a victim to go into anaphylaxis, which definitely requires a trip to the hospital. Fans have noticed that the singer holds most of her concerts indoors, and this just might be because she’s trying to reduce her chances of coming into contact with the little buggers.

13 Peanuts Are A No-No For Tennis Superstar Serena Williams

Tennis champ Serena Williams has proven that she can handle a lot—relentless training schedules, the toughest competition in the world and intense pressure coming from left, right and center. But what she can’t handle, thanks to her allergies, are peanuts.

Serena’s peanut allergy is relatively sensitive, but she still falls under the one percent of people in the United States currently living with an allergy to the nuts. Not only is she not able to enjoy peanuts themselves, but peanut products are also off limits too. Yup, this means no Reese’s products or anything with peanut butter for that matter. That would be almost as tough as not being able to ever cuddle a kitten. But judging from the success of her performance and her strong physique, she’s found somewhere else to get her protein anyway!

12 Vanessa Hudgens Can't Use Public Pools Because Of Her Allergy

The chlorine present in the majority of public and private pools keeps germs from spreading and eases the minds of people who don’t necessarily want to be swimming through the body fluids of total strangers. But for people like Vanessa Hudgens, chlorine ruins the whole experience.

Vanessa suffers from an allergy to chlorine, and depending on how long she is exposed to it, she could break out in itchy rashes and red raised bumps. To help manage this allergy, the actress tends to avoid pools that have excessive amounts of chlorine and even uses water purifiers to stop her skin from reacting. While this sounds like a bizarre allergy, many people in the United States suffer from it to varying degrees, some so mildly that they don’t even realize.

11 Jon Bon Jovi's Hay Fever Is So Serious That It Disrupts His Life

A lot of us suffer from hay fever in the spring, but some unlucky souls have to deal with the symptoms all year round. Irritatingly itchy eyes, rashes, hives and skin bumps, blocked sinuses, face pains and chronic sneezing do get tiring and stressful after a while, but for some people, this is a reality.

Music icon Jon Bon Jovi suffers from hay fever to such a serious extent that he’s even had to excuse himself off stage to deal with the annoying and persistent symptoms. Ideally, someone who experiences such intense hay fever should avoid spending too long outside during certain times of the year, but when you’ve got thousands of people dying to see you in a stadium show in every city, you don’t get that luxury.

10 Miley Cyrus's Life Is That Much Less Sweet Since She Can't Have Cinnamon

An allergy to cinnamon might not sound too frustrating, but when you think about how many foods are created and dusted with the spice, it could actually mean some noticeable diet restrictions. Hot donuts are usually coated with cinnamon, if not with sugar, as are sweets like apple pie, and a range of Indian delicacies. Life without cinnamon would sure be a lot less sweet!

Miley Cyrus has opened up about her cinnamon allergy and has explained that when she comes into contact with the spice, her skin usually reacts by breaking out in rashes and irritation. But luckily, Miley has revealed that although she can’t eat cinnamon-dusted donuts, her body has no problem when she smells cinnamon-scented candles, which she happens to love the most.

9 It's A Gluten-Free Diet For Jessica Simpson, Who Has A Wheat Allergy

It’s not just celiacs who are eating gluten-free these days. Many people throughout the world are ditching the gluten products in hopes of detoxing their digestive systems, helping with sensitive stomach issues like IBS, and even losing weight. There’s certainly more gluten-free foods on the market than there have ever been, but that doesn’t mean going without those fluffy flour products is a piece of cake (pun intended). One person who knows all about it is singer Jessica Simpson, who has to follow a gluten-free diet because she’s allergic to wheat.

In the past, Jessica has developed stomach ulcers that were allegedly a result of eating wheat. So now she steers clear of bread, cake, pasta, cookies, pizza and anything else made with wheat. We’re sure her stomach feels much better as a result of this diet, but still … condolences, girl!

8 Eva Longoria Has Her Own Perfume Line, But She Can't Wear Anybody Else's Perfume

An allergy to perfume is actually quite common, and a number of celebrities openly suffer from it. Beyoncé is one of the most famous faces who can’t handle wearing scents, despite having her own perfume line. Another famous face is Eva Longoria, who has uncontrollable sneezing fits and sinus swelling when she’s exposed to perfumes and colognes that are particularly strong.

For this reason, she purposely wanted to create something that was “easy to wear” and during her first time at the fragrance house, she insisted that her perfume be suitable for those who are sensitive to other perfumes. She basically created a fragrance that was light and not overbearing, that wouldn’t cause her to sneeze continuously since she had so much trouble finding one that already existed. Pretty proactive!

7 Grass Can Be A Problem For Bombshell Actress Scarlett Johansson

Some people deal with their allergies by just avoiding them completely, but that can be pretty hard to do, depending on what your allergy is. For someone like Scarlett Johansson, for example, that would be near impossible. The actress has allergies to grass pollen, meaning that she has to be careful when she comes into contact with grass or grass-like vegetation. Even if you live in New York City, you’re going to come across grass sooner or later, so this would be a pretty tough allergy to live with.

When Scarlett does come into contact with grass, her skin becomes itchy and red rashes develop all over her. Her eyes become inflamed and tear up too, so she definitely needs to keep a few packets of antihistamines around her at all times.

6 Kim Kardashian Is Another Star Who Won't Be Cuddling Kittens Anytime Soon

Kim K might seem like she has everything a girl could want, but we can’t stress enough how much it would suck to not be able to cuddle kittens! In typical Kardashian fashion, Kim found out about her allergy to cats on camera.

In the episode of her family’s reality show, Kim visited an allergy clinic in Florida where she learned that her body couldn’t handle felines. At the time, she had a kitten called Mercy, and the revelation meant that she had to find a new home for her furry friend. Sadly, Mercy ended up passing away, and obviously, due to her allergies, Kim hasn’t tried to find another cat. It’s estimated that as much as 25% of the population might suffer from an allergy to cats.

5 Like Seven Million Other Americans, Halle Berry Is Highly Allergic To Shellfish

We  know Halle Berry from her success in the film industry, from the awards she’s won and the huge blockbusters she’s starred in. While you’ve probably heard all about her amazing looks, sense of style and philanthropic work, you might not have known that the actress actually suffers from an allergy to shellfish, which is something that approximately seven million other Americans also suffer from.

Being allergic to shellfish usually means no shrimp, lobster or crab. But for those who have a serious allergy to all kinds of shellfish, there is also no eating clams, mussels, oysters or scallops. This kind of allergy often manifests later in life, once someone has reached adulthood. In a way, that’s even worse—if you can eat shellfish until the age of, say 21, then you know what you’re missing when you have to go without it!

4 Cooking For Zooey Deschanel Would Be Tricky Since She Has A Ton Of Food Allergies

Managing just one allergy would be tough, but some people are unlucky enough to suffer from a number of allergies. Actress Zooey Deschanel is one such person, who reportedly has a variety of food allergies which dictate which foods she can and cannot eat. These include allergies to eggs, wheat and dairy. “I am the worst person to ever eat with because I have all these stupid food allergies,” the actress said, explaining that sometimes being social is tough when you can’t enjoy what other people are having.

Not being able to eat food that has dairy, eggs or wheat must be pretty tricky and Zooey often has to get special meals delivered to her trailer when she’s working on a movie. She first learned of all these allergies around 2006 when she had a blood test

3 Our Hearts Ache For Ellen Pompeo, Who Is Reportedly Allergic To Dogs

Ellen Pompeo suffers from several allergies, and tragically, this means that she can’t hang out with dogs as much as your average dog-lover can. This sensitivity to dogs comes from the way they shed their fur, which provokes her asthma. When she’s exposed to dogs that do shed a lot of fur, her sinuses fill and swell up and she has sneezing fits. This might be the worst allergy of all!

Despite this, Ellen does own two toy poodles with her husband. According to the actress, her asthma is fine with these fur babies because they don’t shed fur like other dogs do. We’re glad she found a way to get around the issue—a dog-free life is too sad to even think about.

2 Food Might Be A Bit Bland In Drew Barrymore's House, Since She's Allergic To Garlic

And you thought only vampires couldn’t handle garlic! Though it’s not an overly common allergic, garlic intolerance does affect quite a few people in the United States, and actress Drew Barrymore is one of them. Being allergic to a common ingredient like garlic means that Drew has to analyze food labels religiously to make sure she’s not accidentally getting any in anything she’s eating. Garlic can appear in seasoning mixes and marinades, so it’s not just garlic bread that she’d have to look out for—it could be in anything!

Drew is also reportedly allergic to perfume, much like Eva Longoria and Beyoncé, and like Britney Spears, doesn’t react well to bee stings. But her allergy to garlic is what bothers her the most, since the others are understandably easier to avoid.

1 Getting Flowers Is A Reason To Smile, Unless You're Cameron Diaz

Valentine’s Days must have looked pretty different for Cameron Diaz over the years, since being presented with flowers makes her eyes water, her face itchy and her nose run. Flower allergies are common, and are likely to be caused by the pollen and other particles emitted.

Avoiding flowers completely is certainly easier said than done. Not only would Cameron have to avoid them in gardens, but she’d also have to request that people not gift them to her, which would be especially tricky since actresses are given gifts like flowers all the time. Attending weddings or funerals would also be a problem, and she probably has to demand that all the decorative flowers set up in business meets and press tours are fake.

Probiots.org, ranker.com everydayhealth.com

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