Reaction to apple????

Well, it's pollen season so it sounds like this could possibly be oral allergy syndrome. There is lots of info about it on the internet, but here is one link that might help

[url="http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/Articles/Oral_Food_Allergy.htm"]http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/Articles/Oral_Food_Allergy.htm[/url]

You might have to type it in because it looks like it's wrapping. If this link doesn't work, then go to Google and type in oral allergy syndrome apples. It will pull up tons of links.

Sandra Y's is right about the possible cross reaction. I think that the apple molecule has a great deal in common with the birch pollen molecule. Your allergist should be able to do tests for pollen and tell you what foods to avoid during times of seasonal allergies.

The former produce manager at our local Wild Oats had the disturbing practice of eating cashews out of hand while restocking apples. When I called him on it, his response was... "Don't worry about it!" Really, truly -- verbatim. And he continued munching... [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/eek.gif[/img]

From that point on, we started buying our apples by the case. We have an extra refrigerator in the garage that we keep at the right temperature for storing them, and they stay nice and crispy. We get a 10% discount for making the bulk purchase, so it works out well for us. If we didn't have the storage space, I would probably ask if I could just buy ___ lbs straight from the crate.

I'd always kind of wondered about what would happen if a customer went from the self-serve fresh-ground peanut butter machine to the produce area and then picked through the apples. This has ruled out that possibility as well.

Hope your DD is feeling much better...

-Sue

Thank you for your responses!

Sandra and River-you both were right about the Oral Allergy Syndrome. I met with my allergist yesterday and he confirmed this. He was amazed that I already had an idea of what it was...I said it was THANKS to this web site and you both! Madeline has a bunch of tree pollen allergies and he confirmed that after the reaction she had from the apple, she is most likely suffering from Oral Allergies.

My question is this: If your child comes up positive to environmental allergies, why aren't we (as parents) told to "look out" for this Oral Allergy thing?? I had never even heard of this and I felt I was pretty informed about allergies. Guess not.

Thank you again. We are now in the process of going through the list of foods that cross react with pollen to see what she can have/cannot have. Apple is one we will avoid until summer or winter! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Shandra

I'm glad you figured it out. What a relief, huh, just to know for sure? I'm sure it's a pain crossing foods off the list of what she can eat, but it's great you were able to see the allergist so quickly and confirm it.

I don't know why oral allergy syndrome is relatively unknown. I learned about it at a FAAN conference. Lots of people who aren't dealing with severe food allergies do have oral allergy syndrome but they just consider it a food allergy and I think that's why sometimes they can't figure out what's the big deal about peanut allergy or other severe food allergies.

Shandra,

If it is oral allergy syndrome, she should be able to eat apples if they have been cooked (which is why I have fridge full of baked apples right now!), or possibly even if they have been peeled. However, based on the severity of her reaction, I would stick to cooked fruit and experiment with peeled at another time of year when her seasonal allergies aren't an issue.

Good luck!

Amy

Hi [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
I have Oral Allergy Syndrome. Like mentioned above, if that's what it is, your daughter should be able to eat apples that are cooked (juice, applesauce, pie, etc). You may want to keep an eye out for the other fruits/veggies that she may react to. It started out with apples for me too, and then went on to a whole bunch of fruits and now tree nuts and peanuts.

For me, peeling the fruit doesn't matter. Just cutting up apples for pie makes my hands totally itchy and red. Yuk!

It's great that you found about it so quickly!

Good luck!

[This message has been edited by KarenH (edited May 26, 2003).]

I'm glad I found this topic. My 6 year old dd ate a washed, still with peeling on apple lastnight and everywhere the apple touched her face she has little red welts, some with a small white center in them. They didn't look like a typical hive to me though. The apple didn't bother her hands or inside of her mouth, but I made her throw it out and wash her face. The "spots" stayed for about an hour and then went away. She also has sensitive skin....I noticed that this happened one time when she ate canned pears as well. I also think she has developed some pollen allergies, but didn't test to them in the past. She has also eaten apple pie and other cooked fruits with no problems. She had a swollen tongue one time when having applecider, (not sure it it's cooked first, but don't think so.) I mentioned that to her doctor and he said it must have been from something else..I wonder about that now! Btw, she is sneezing this morning with a runny nose, the dandilions outside are all pollen now also. Thanks for this info.
Tamie

Tamie, you describe Oral Allergy Syndrome exactly.

I'll bet your daughter is allergic to birch pollen---because of the apple reaction.

You might also want to avoid any fruit that has a pit, such as cherry or peach.

You are also right that when you cook the fruit, (and it has to be cooked really well), then there are no allergic reactions to eating it. The cooking actually alters the molecules so that they no longer bear such a close resemblance to the pollen ones.

How do you treat a reaction attributed to oral allergy syndrome?

Is it epi pen or antihistamines? both?

Peg

This is still somewhat confusing......do allergists test for this? And, do we tell people that our kids just can't eat these raw fruits/veggies at all or what? I hate to say that my dd can't eat apples in the spring unless they're cooked, because I don't want to minimize the other allergies, know what I mean? How should we handle this? How do You handle this? Questions, questions, questions!!!
Tamie

Tammy - My dd was just recently diagnosed with OAS. I brought her in to be tested for banana allergy because she said it made her mouth itch. She also has a problem with apples. He did not test her specifically for OAS, but when we described her symptoms he checked her previous pollen and ragweed results and that is how he diagnosed her.

I have the same questions on how to handle this, so I'll be checking back here as well.

Maggie