Talking Allergies

I would love to hear from other people who suffer from OAS. Is anyone out there? I am 33 years old, diagnosed with OAS when I was 30.
To date, (those who know of OAS know that the allergic foods keep adding to the list at some point) I am allergic to the following. I have anaphalytic reactions and carry and epi pen.
*apples
*peaches
*pear
*plum
*avacado
*kiwi
*strawberry
*melons (except watermelon)
*banana
*nectarine
*tree nuts (although I can eat peanuts)
*snow/snap peas

I think that is all. It kind of sucks. I can eat those foods once they are cooked well (in baking) or canned.
Please share information or advice if you can!!!
I also have alot of environmental allergies (paper birch, ragweed, dustmites, pollens etc) that make me feel pretty crummy. I recently had surgery on my sinus's though, and I must admit that my EA's have been significantly less annoying. Summer is just starting here so I am guessing they might get worse.
Take care!
Erin

I am starting to think that my daughter needs to be tested. For a long time now she has said that cucumbers hurt her throat. She has also just told me that cherries, bananas and apples also hurt her throat. When she was a baby she reacted immediatly to any fruit except for bananas, she would get an instant rash on her temples.

Hi Erin and Kerriku,
I have OAS as well as other allergies. I've never been diagnosed through allergy tests (I hear that the preprepared tests for fruits and vegetables aren't that reliable---testing with juice from the fresh fruit is better), but an allergist I used to go to told me about OAS after I complained about reacting to raw fruits and vegetables--I guess that's kind of a diagnosis. I didn't realize until recently that OAS could cause anaphylaxis. That explains why my one allergist got quite upset when I told him that I had an allergic reaction to a banana (one of my known allergens)---I used to be able to eat 1/3 of a banana without having a reaction. Any more than that and I would have a reaction. At the time, I didn't realize that 'milder' reactions could become worse, and no one had told me differently, so my strategy was to 'try' on occasion foods that I wasn't as allergic to. I think my allergist at the time assumed that I knew more than I did because I am really cautious about my severe allergies and have had allergies for a long time (since infancy, actually).

At AllergyExpo, one of the allergist mentioned that it wasn't until recently that they started hearing about cases of OAS in kids. I had OAS as a kid, but the allergist I went to at that point wasn't really into asking that many questions about my allergies or my medical history. Sometimes I think that if doctors aren't aware of a particular condition, it gets missed and is assumed not to exist. It does seem like OAS is on the rise though from what I've heard. I read somewhere that the proteins that are allergenic protect the plant from insects, etc. and that pollution causes higher levels of those proteins to be produced. If this is true, it would make sense why OAS is becoming more common.

I've always had bad reactions from all melons (but I think this is probably because melons cross-react with ragweed which I am also very allergic to). Cherries is another one I generally stayed away from completely unless cooked, but even when cooked they sometimes bother my throat a bit if I have too many. I entirely avoid raw carrots, celery, radish, cauliflower, and broccoli as well. I used to eat just a bit of raw cucumber, but now I don't. Carrots occasionally bother my throat just a bit when cooked--for some reason I find that baby carrots are more likely to cause a problem (is this the case for anyone else out there??)--but I eat them anyways because I don't react all the time.

There are a lot of uncooked fruits that I used to be able to eat on occasion...but then I would become more sensitive and would have to cook them. I would try them again after staying away from them for a period of time. Does anyone else find that their reactions fluctuate like this? Plums, pears, and peaches are in this category for me as well as grapes and most varieties of apples. For some reason, blueberries aren't a problem raw. I used to be able to eat locally grown McIntosh apples raw, though. I seem to be more allergic to other varieties of raw apples. I do occasionally get a small hive or two on my lips and slight throat irritation even with McIntosh apples, so this year I just started cooking everything. If I didn't have lettuce and tomatoes too often, I used to be able to have a bit of salad. Lettuce now bothers me a lot, so I boil it. I can't say that I'm that enthusiastic about boiled lettuce. Last summer I noticed that I am just more reactive to everything, and now I just cook all fruits and vegetables. It definitely means I spend a lot more time in the kitchen than I would otherwise!
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Lisa

Yes,
IT is true. The processed drops that are used when tested for allergies do not work for people with OAS. I have on a few occasions had to take a bag of fresh raw fruits and veggies (whatever I think I maya be allergic to) to the allergist for them to test me with. THey usually do a skin prick test.....prick the surface of the skin and rub the juice/skin over that area. It works really well.
Depending on the severety of the hive that I will develope, I will do a "chew and spit" test where I chew the food for 1 minute, then spit it out and see what happens inside my mouth. No dignity with that test....
I cannot swallow the food though.
I am glad that I am not the only one here suffering with OAS. Some people think that it is not a real thing, but trust me, when my throat was blistering and it was really hard to breathe, I sure was convinced!!!
Have a good night
Erin

Erin,

Thanks for the feedback on the testing with the fresh fruits and veggies. Maybe I should get it checked out--not that it matters all that much because I know I'm allergic in this case, but having a definite diagnosis would be good. I hope my allergist won't want confirmation through a chew and spit test though! Ick.

I also get the feeling that people don't understand OAS. I'm sometimes vague about my allergies when people ask because the Oral Allergy Syndrome does sound a bit weird especially because I have a long list of foods I avoid. Most everyone gets the allergy issue when it comes to things like peanuts and eggs, but allergies to raw fruits and vegetables?

Lisa

Oral allergy syndrom is extremely hard to explain to others. I've had it forever and it has fluctuated with time. The one I always had was raw tomatoes. The fruits slowly started to anoy me more and more, so I stopped them one by one over time. My mom gets mad at me as I mostly drink "flavored sugar water" instead of real juices... but most real juices I can only have a few sips before reacting. She reacts to fruits but can't figure out how I react to fruit juice . I only have bananas, melons and berries on my safe list, but even then I try not to eat to much just to make sure I don't start to react to them too. I don't have any trouble with veggies yet, so I'm glad for that. The other day, I started to slowly introduce one fruit a week and I can tolerate it, but if I start to add more, I react to all of them.

Mylène

Reading this thread, I decided to surf the ner to find out more about OAS... and I just realize I think I have it. When I eat certain veggies of fruit raw, I get itchy throat and mouth and swollen lips. I always stopped eating the food that caused that. I just read that you can eat it cooked but this can cause severe gastro intertinal problems, which I have whenever I eat fruit or veggies. Does anyone else have that?

I was only able to put a name to this about 5 years ago... I never really liked fruit as I thought that reaction was part of the taste... but I have never found that it causes more digestion problem if I eat them cooked, but on the other hand, I don't eat that much fruit anyways but I do eat tomatoes and they don't create any problem for me. But then, everyone is different. I stil have to get tested for carrots to see if it's severe OAS or simply a regular allergy, but I'm not in a hurry as I don't eat them anymore.

Mylène

If I ate a lot of cooked cherries I would sometimes get a stomach ache. Not sure whether that is related to OAS, though. I'm fortunate that I can eat most fruits and vegetables if they are cooked. Corn, spinach, bananas and legumes are exceptions. I've never tried cooked melons before----but my reaction is bad enough to them raw that I'm not even going to try it (I have a feeling cooked melon wouldn't be that great anyway )

I didn't realize that people were reacting to so many things. People look at me like I'm nuts when I say I'm allergic to raw broccoli and carrots, although when the baby carrots are fresh from the garden I'm okay and just recently I tried raw broccoli and was okay. It's nice (sort of in a weird way) to know that there are others out there. My husband and mom are really the only who believe me. I also am ana. to peanuts, walnuts, hazlenuts, pistacios, and red meat from Ontario. (I;ve just found out that Alberta beef and Amercian beef are safe for me, and enjoyed my first steak in ten years not tooo long ago! My nine month old son is ana. to cow's milk and reacts just from contact as well. Here's to hoping for a better future in the research, especially if the doctor's had time to read what everyone is writing about on this forum board.

Karen, I wonder what is in Ontario beef that causes the problem. Do you have any idea? Could it be some additive or some hormone they feed the animal? Or is it something they are feeding the cows in Ontario?

One of my sisters has a beef allergy as well. She's also allergic to lamb, and I've read that sometimes people who are allergic to lamb can't have beef either. --Lisa

I was reading this and I am sensitive to bannas they itch my throat also. Or have, I had not had one for close to 20 years. My Uncle and I thought it was normal and everyone had the same reaction. My allergist at the time was shocked by this also
I now know why I am allergic to meleons I belive you said ragweed........
That is a really bad one for me it is such a bothe to my sinius cavity.
I forgot to add we always eat western beef the other tastes funny !

I am not sure what the deal is with the beef, our friend at the grocery store and at a butchers say they do put preservatives on the meat in the stores, which makes sense (?) as I can't have nitrates, like corned beef (boy I miss those Rueben's) and hotdogs. Or it's sulphites, as I can't drink red wine except when breastfeeding, (and I don't want to give that up yet). Weird things, but I'm glad I'm not alone. Karen

Karenrector;
I was told nitrates are on the preserved meat; ham; bacon, pepperoni etc.
It is also in other things like white flour. That was a annoying.
I'm glad to hear someone else has nitrate/sulphite allergies. I am not alone..........
Myself I miss the luncheon meats. As I have anaphylaxis from nitrates; which developed as I got older I stay away from that stuff.
Our butcher does not put additives on ground meat, pork chops, chicken, or beef steaks, roasts etc. They aren't suppose to if it is fresh meat ( I think the word is uncured ).

Does an allergy to pineapple fit in with OAS? My 3 yr old son is very allergic to pineapple (as well as peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, mustard seed, egg and fish. We have also been told to avoid all beans and legumes).