Question:
I've only just started searching for
more information on my food allergies although I've suffered with them for
many years. Because of the unusualness of my allergies -- to most raw
fruits and vegetables (especially carrots) -- any information is difficult
to find. I particularly want to know what it is that these things have in
common that induce allergy attacks and why they do not affect me when
cooked. I would be interested in hearing from anyone with the same or
similar problems.
Answer:
Your allergy is not at all unusual. I have answered many posts this
summer from individuals reporting fruit allergies and/or Oral Allergy
Syndrome. (In fact, I've often thought we ought to have a FAQ on it.) Fruit and vegetable allergies are associated with certain pollen
allergies. Some (but not all) individuals who cannot tolerate raw fruit
can tolerate it when cooked.
You might want to try http://www.foodallergy.org for a start.
Cooking the fruit/vegetable denatures the protein that is causing the
allergy. My boyfriend referred me to this website. It's funny to find someone
who has very similar allergies to mine. I thought I was a weirdo for
being allergic to so many fruits. I didn't have them as kid. It became
progressively worse over the years. In college, it became uncorfortable
enough that I just gave up eating them. Heather's allergies to raw fruits and vegetables sound very similar to
what I have. I am allergic to basically every fruit except oranges (and
other orange-like fruits) and grapes. Apples and mellons give me the
strongest reactions. In terms of vegetables, I think I might be allergic
to carrots only. I eat most vegetables cooked to I can't really tell what
other kinds I am allergic to. I don't get an allergic reaction if the
fruit is cooked, preserved, or frozen. Peeling a fruit doesn't prevent
the allergic reactions.
I was wondering if the reaction of people with this pattern of fruit
allergies is the same. My symptoms occur within minutes or even seconds
of eating a piece of fuit. My main symptoms are an itchy throat that
tightens and itchy lips that turn bright red and become puffy. My whole
mouth itches.
Does anyone no if there is a medication to relieve or prevent food
allergies? I take Claritin for my hayfever. For experimentation
purposes, I ate a fruit while on Claritin. Result was that I still had an
allergic reaction.
You know, I'm really starting to think this fruit allergy thing is a lot
more common than we've been led to believe. My allergies are very similar
to yours, but my lips don't swell. I just get burning & itching. Do your
food allergies get worse when your hay fever acts up? Mine seem stronger
when I'm having trouble with other allergies (pets, pollen, whatever). I
haven't had any luck preventing food allergies with Claritin, either, but
that's all I've tried.
