Hey, look what I've diagnosed myself with. Oral Allergy Syndrome sounds completely made up but I have basically all of the symptoms. I stopped telling people long ago that I've been having bad reactions to fruit and possibly vegetables because it's not "natural". And I've never been good at eating fruits & veggies so it's not very convincing if I suddenly don't want to eat them. When I had an unpleasant reaction to organic cherries for the second time in a week I almost burst into tears and turned to the internet to see if I was in fact insane. I had finally ruled out the suspicion that I was reacting to pesticides because I knew the cherries weren't sprayed.
I found out that fruit and veggie allergies are directly correlated with tree pollen allergies which I've known I've had for years. My current related nastly list now includes apples, strawberries, cherries and possibly raw peas and carrots. I also have been identified as having strong ragweed allergies - those corrrespond to bad reactions to bananas and melons (this thankfully solves my banana mystery that's bothered me for 15 years). The good news is that I seem to have some company with these odd allergies and I'm not going crazy. Also I can apparently eat all these fruits in a cooked version (cobblers, canned, jams, etc.). The bad news is that nearly every site I've tracked down so far has the same prescription. Stop eating the foods or your reactions will quite possibly get worse and no, there is very little chance of the allergies going away. It seems that the only slim hope might be to get desensitized enough to the pollens through shots that the body doesn't get triggered by the foods anymore.
What on earth is going wrong when my body reacts badly to fruit and vegetables?!
12 comments:
Hey Tan. For years I've been alergic to different fruits and veggies. I didn't think it was abnormal in the least bit. I react to tomatoes, avacados, sprouts, honeydew, cantelope, and a variety of others. I also noticed that all of them are fine as long as they're cooked.
Welcome to the club ;)
You didn't think it was abnormal to be allergic to all those foods? Maybe my standards are too high. I expect to react badly to crappy food with additives or sprays but this took me by surprise. Apparently it hasn't damaged you too badly so I'm sure I'll get used to it too. Cherries feels like a pretty low blow right now though.
How did you find the information! It seems to make a lot of sense, knowing the reactions to many supposedly unrelated triggers through the years, but now linking them. Good thing we're not there this year feasting on cherries & strawberries. Wish you didn't have to be deal with these limitations.
Hey Tannis,
Apparently I'm in that club too - bananas, raw carrots, kiwis (mildly), hazelnuts, walnuts, & pecans. The roof of my mouth gets all itchy and moves down my throat. I've fortunately never had it close up on me but not fun. The nut allergies result in me getting a rash as well - hives or something?
My cousin Shelli takes some kind of anti-allergy medication that allows her to eat anything though. She has some of the same allergies.
Cherries are still cool with me though - that's a rough one considering where you live! I thought it was chemicals as well originally but the organic stuff causes me reactions as well.
As far as Jason's allergies - I wish I was allergic to honeydew or cantelope as I can't stand their odor!
Wow, I have never heard of people being allergic to fruits and vegetable's. I guess I thought it was a non existent allergy. Interesting. Best of luck to you! Maybe you will create some new tasty cooked dishes that you can handle.
It's good to hear that this isn't as strange as I thought. After my initial little freak out I calmed down and of course it's not really so bad. I got cocky yesterday and ate some cherries anyway. Yes, I got itchy and irritated but they were so good. My reactions have generally been mild so there probably isn't too much danger of my throat closing up. Not that I plan to tempt it too often.
Garth - does your cousin take antihistimines? I thought of taking one before eating some cherries, just to test it.
Wow, Tan - that sucks. I don't even know if I should mention that I don't think Ryan or I have any allergies. I do think I may have an allergy to cigarette smoke, btu that's more an excuse than it is factual. Hope you find something you can take for that - or else a good alternative for all the fruits and veggies you have to shy away from. I agree - how can a body be allergic to the good stuff?!
Oh, dear.
I couldn't help but jump at your final sentence: "What on earth is going wrong . . ?"
What on earth is going wrong indeed! I keep running across more and more people with allergies and autoimmune diseases, and I can't help but wonder at each instance when we'll collectively realize that the global environment and our small bodily environments are not separate. It must be horrendously difficult for our animal selves to live comfortably in our carved-out cities and disrupted landscapes; is it any wonder that they get confused and stressed and start reacting unfavorably to things that should be good?
I'm so sorry, though, and I do hope you're able to find alternatives.
Siona, I totally agree with your assessment that we are out of tune with our animal selves. How we can spray killer chemicals on our food sources for example, and expect to get away with it blows my mind. Not to mention all the other crap we produce/consume on any given day.
And yes, there are plenty of alternative fruits & vegetables. I got over my indignance and realized how lucky I am that my reactions are as minor as they are right now.
Hey, not sure how old your thread on this is, but I have the same issues. It started about 15 yrs ago, when melon of any kind would make my throat feel skratchy. Pregressed to apples, carrots, peaches, pears, grapes, basically anything except berries will make my mouth and or throat swell up. WHy couldnt it have been potato chips!!!! Now for the GOOOD news!! I am finding ways to trick my body, cos I love and miss the fruit. I can do yogurt coated fruits for some reason. Applesauce is ok, cos it is cooked. Some natural fruit roll ups are good. I myself an going to try the shots to see if they help. I am allergic to tree pollen, ragweed, grass, basically anything outside!! LOL
Debi - Glad you're finding ways to trick your body! The yogurt one is interesting, is it over dried fruit? I was okay with anything dried until I tried an apple this year and reacted badly. Canned fruit is fine but I'm still not used to it. Once I miss the fresh stuff enough it will seem wonderful I'm sure.
I'd be interested to know if the shots work, I'd be willing to try that.
hey! don't worry, this isn't totally made up at all...my allergist actually diagnosed me with oral allergy syndrome this morning at an appointment. sad part is, there really isn't anything you can do about it.
if you take an antihistamine before eating the fruit /veggie(zyrtec/benadryl) it should reduce the reaction by 50%
:-)
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