<p>Does anyone else have this problem? I’ve always complained to my mom since I was a little kid about eating carrots, apples, peaches, bananas, berries, melons, and other fruits/veggies, and finally, I think I’ve found the answer. I have really bad seasonal allergies, and even after 9 years of allergy shots, I still have horrible seasonal allergies and hay fever. Whenever I eat certain fruits/veggies, my mouth itches terribly, then it moves to my throat and ears. Both of my grandmothers suffered from hay fever, one was allergic to peaches terribly (she may have had this condition as well). However, once I cook most of these fruits/veggies (apples, peaches, carrots), I don’t seem to have the itchiness anymore. A funny story behind all of this is that my mom just recently told me that when I was ~3, I was eating strawberries at a day fair near the Shenandoah Mnts and broke out in a huge rash all over my body, and so my parents avoiding feeding me strawberries for years until one day I accidentally ate them again and I was fine…makes us wonder if it was a pesticide or other preservative on the berries or if it was due to OAS.</p>
<p>Shoebox- my D has a similar problem though cooking them doesn’t help her. When she was little she would complain that her throat and ears itched after eating certain foods. Carrots was one in particular. Both her Dr and her parents thought she just didn’t want to eat her vegetables. Plus she always had stomach aches so we would just humor her and give her a tums. Fast forward to age 12. She was on a sports team and had an asthma attack. We weren’t there but another Mom recognized the symptoms. We ended up taking her to an allergy and asthma Dr. Seems she did have asthma and they also did allergy tests and guess what. She was highly allergic to carrots, celery, apples and numerous other fruits and vegetables plus wheat and soy. Her pediatrician and parents felt terrible that for years we basically felt the reactions were all in her head.
She tries to avoid most of the foods though does carry benadryl because sometimes she will eat something and not know what is in it and her throat begins to itch. Her Dr also gave her an epipen but she doesn’t carry it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I have exactly this issue - though I never knew what it was! For me, it only really happens upon eating raw apples. I’m fine with cooked apples (for example, in apple pie) though.</p>
<p>1of42- i’m the exact same way! I didn’t know what was causing the itches until i was just googling “fruit allergies” and OAS popped up. I keep meaning to ask my doctor, but I fear they’ll just say “that doesn’t exist” or something and give me no answers. I had an ENT and allergist for 9 years, but he quit his practice abruptly due to drug abuse and I’ve yet to find a new one that will let me take my shots home and administer them myself.<br>
As for the cooked food, I can eat cooked apples and the other fruits/veggies. Also, if I eat the fruit/veggie with something else (apple w/ carmel, carrots and dip, strawberries and ice cream, etc) it seems to reduce the symptoms, but not exactly got rid of them.<br>
For any of the other sufferers: do you have seasonal /allergies? Or are your symptoms due to an actual allergy to the fruit/veggie? Also, is there a way to avoid this? Drinking water seems to make mine worse, but eating other foods helps a bit.</p>
<p>My son has terrible seasonal allergies, gets skin reactions to unknown triggers, had eczema when younger, and sometimes reactive airways. Avoiding “fruit” has been what helps, but he gives in every so often, as he loves “smoothies” and we live in California with orchards all over the place. He figured out blueberries were safe before we learned about the OAS.</p>
<p>Whenever I told my mother that my mouth and ears would itch after cantaloupe, she never believed me. Ha! But seriously, it’s good that I know this. I recently started having terrible allergies.</p>
<p>My middle son has complained of these symptoms for years, but when I asked his pediatrician about it several years ago, he laughed and told me he’d never heard of such a strange thing (itching in the mouth and a feeling that your throat is swelling, after eating certain fruits and veggies). I asked him if he could look it up for me, and believe it or not, he told me he wasn’t going to waste any time on it because there is no such thing!</p>
<p>I took my son to an allergist, who said, “sounds like your son has oral allergy syndrome”. Apparently, it is a reaction to an enzyme in the fruits and vegetables that is destroyed when they are cooked. So S cannot eat raw strawberries, carrots, apples, pears, watermelon, etc., but can eat these things with no problem when they are cooked. (well, except the watermelon! I can’t imagine cooking watermelon!) Oral allergens are in the same plant families as other allergens – for example, my son is allergic to aspen and oak trees, and he has oral allergy syndrome with fruits that are from trees in the same families. </p>
<p>I recommend you see an allergist if you think you might have oral allergy syndrome.</p>
<p>Well, thanks. You just put a name to a symptom that I had as a child under 12. I had these symptoms from eating certain melons, and honeydew was the worst offender for me. As an adult I can eat all melons.</p>
<p>Im wondering if you have the same problems if you eat organic fruit.
Ive had those problems, but I don’t seem to have the same response with organic
Id also make sure you have an anti histimine nearby because problems in the mouth etc, could also be in the respiratory tract</p>
<p>Well I believe you, and have a hard time getting myself to the doctor anymore because of their (often) condescending attitude. Proof of the old saying “If a doctor isn’t up on something they’re down on it”.</p>
<p>I found that the only allergist that helped my daughter was an environmental allergist. The regular allergist was no help at all.</p>
<p>Organic is better - no pesticides for your body to fight off. On your own you might consider doing a cleanse to improve your health and digestion. Taking digestive enzymes may help in the long run, not for the immediate symptoms, in my experience, but to improve your health generally. These measures have helped me, but I still avoid the uncooked itchy fruits and veggies.</p>