This is a bit off-topic, since the possible culprit isn't peanuts, but since you all have been so helpful with my son's peanut allergy, I thought I'd ask what you think.
I've suspected I'm allergic to a couple of foods for a while. I'm definitely allergic to canteloupe, but last summer when my PA son was having mystery reactions to foods, I would sometimes have a slight feeling of irritation in my mouth when I ate some of those foods, too. My son turned out to be not only PA and TNA, but also allergic to soy and strawberries.
So I made an allergist appointment for myself, and asked to be tested for PA, TNA, soy and banana, being pretty sure I was allergic to banana (having more definite mouth irritation when I ate them raw, despite eating them with no problem until a few years ago) and wondering about the other things, too, especially soy, which had turned out to be my son's mystery allergen.
The allergist did a bunch of skin tests, and told me I'm allergic to canteloupe (which I already knew) and almonds and Brazil nuts (which I've never had symptoms from). Also, he told me I'm *not* allergic to soy or bananas.
So last night I ate a banana. And by the time I finished it, my tongue and lips had started itching. The itching then progressed to a pretty strong stinging sensation, especially on my lips. There was no swelling or anything. I took a Claritin, and by the time I did that, the inside of my right elbow (where I occasionally have trouble with eczema) started to itch. After a couple of scratches, I pulled up my sleeve and looked at the itchy area, and I had a couple of red raised spots there. I don't know for sure if they were hives. The symptoms more or less went away after about an hour (so maybe 45 minutes after I took the claritin).
So here's my question: am I allergic to bananas, despite the negative skin test a few months ago? Could they have mixed up the labeling on where they put each allergen on my arm and mixed up banana with one of the nuts? Will the allergist tell me I'm looney, and just imagining my reaction to the banana yesterday?
I have another appointment with him next week -- should I ask for a retest of the banana? Obviously, I don't intend to eat raw bananas any more regardless of the test results, but since banana allergies are related to latex allergies, if I'm positive to banana, I want to minimize my exposure to latex, as well.
Thanks for any information or advice,
Debbie
[This message has been edited by DRobbins (edited January 03, 2002).]
Oh wow! Now you've got me thinking. Once in college I ate a kiwi and had a burning and stinging sensation in my mouth that lasted the entire weekend. Another time I ate something that caused ulcer like, painful sores all in my mouth. I just assumed the kiwi (and the long forgotten culprit of the other incident)were very acidic foods. Your question has got me wondering if I may have actually been experiencing symptoms of food allergies. But, I digress....
I would think you do have some sort of food allergy with bananas. I wonder if there are food allergies and anapylactic food allergies, if that makes any sense. Maybe there are some foods that just cause a bit of discomfort (like the skin irritation you mentioned) and others that cause more serious consequences for people, like the PA our kids have in common. Also, I have wondered if one person can be allergic to a food in a minor way and another person be very seriously allergic to the same food. (like how some people like myself itch and sneeze around a cat and others can have a reaction so bad they quit breathing) And, if so, why? What's the difference? Maybe one type of allergy to the same food would register differently in terms of testing. Sorry to answer your question with a whole bunch of questions! : ) I'm sure I haven't helped at all but I did enjoy the question since it has made me consider a few things I had not considered before. Thanks: Joey