Finally an answer
- I didn't have allergies until I was 18-19 years old. Then it was seasonal, combined with itchiness when I ate Apples/Celery/Almonds. Now I'm 26, still have both allergies, and my list includes Plums, Kiwi, Nectarines, Peaches, Cherries (so bad with cherries), raw potatoes, and carrots! What a weird thing to just pop up the way it did. I wish it would go away just as quickly.
- —Guest Yes!
omg im not the only one
- i have OAS and i am allergic to birch pollen but when my mom cooks the food it doesnt help. its really hard when all of my friends eat apple pie and they are like hey mackenzie u want some and then i have to tell them no sorry im allergic to apples or when im running late to catch the bus and i just wanna grab some almonds but i cant. sometimes its enbarrsing to tell people no sorry im allergic but if they are really your friends they wont care and they will try not to ask you if u want any anymore and maybe they will try not to eat that stuff around you
- —Guest mackenzie
Me too!
- I'm 25 and I also stopped eating almost all fruits due to OAS beginning as a teenager. It all started with apples, and unfortunately, after having a reaction, it was perceived incorrectly as a peanut allergy due to my family's history of nut allergies. My doctor is unfamiliar with this condition, and my friends think I'm CRAZY to say I'm allergic to apples, peaches, plums, cherries,...etc. My seasonal allergies get worse each year, and I find that I'm having trouble with more fruits. Has anyone had luck taking a once-daily allergy medication (ie: loratadine/Claritin) and eating fruit again? This is my next plan in hopes that I can eat fresh fruit again instead of all processed and cooked fruit! I must say, it is somewhat of a relief to find others on here with the same struggles. An allergy to fruit is so bizarre!
- —Guest lizzies
so glad i'm not the only one
- I have it and it's usually with really juicy fruits, i've discovered, like grapes and peaches, and watermelons. i find that drinking coke or fizzy drinks afterwards calms my itchy throat down. :)
- —Guest :)
OAS
- As I kids I ate all fruits no problem. At 17 I ate an apple and apple dip at a party and my lips swelled up like I had collegen!! Ever since(12 years now), apples peaches, plums, cherries, almonds cause this same reaction swollen lips, itchy mouth and throat but no throat tightening. I actually have been microwaving my fruit for about 2years now for 30-60 seconds depending on size and has worked like a charm. If you want you can microwave and then refrigerate the fruit so it is cold.
- —ekk1982
30 years and finally a diagnosis
- I was 7 when my OAS started. And like so many I ate a lot of fruits and vegies before. Mine started with apples too. Then more fruit and vegies and then tree nuts. I can't eat anything off a tree except bananas. I also can't touch a raw potato then touch my skin. For 30 years people thought I was joking, especially since I don't get a really bad reaction. Even doctors looked at me and said that there is nothing they could do. I just itch, get hives and my uvula will get big and make it hard to swallow. I am just glad that there is a name and hopefully some research into this. I thought I was the only one out there. Does benedryl help anyone? It does nothing for me.
- —Guest katyscarlett
I didn't know it was so prevalent!
- I'm surprised to hear how many people thought they were crazy when they started suffering from OAS! I was one as well! No one believed me and I thought it was strange of me to go through this all of a sudden. I thought that it was some of reaction to the pesticide used on fruits (since I had the feeling with any fruit where I could eat the skin). Thanks for the answer! That clears it up!
- —Guest Ryan
Watermelon reaction
- I too reacted with an itchy throat after eating watermelon but I believe it is beause of whatever they spray on them commercially that causes the reaction, like insecticides. As a child I ate them all the time with no problems. So always watch your fruit with soap & water & then your hands before eating it.
- —Guest Susan Johnson
OAS
- I've had OAS for as long as I can remember. I'm fortunate that I live near UCSF - they have an excellent allergy/immunology department. From visits with my doctor, it's my understanding that it's a cross reaction - meaning if there is birch pollen in the air, you are more likely to have a more severe reaction to those fruits/veg/nuts that have a protein that is similar to that pollen, and you can break the protein down by either freezing or cooking it. I've learned that I can eat berries, grapes, and green lettuce. Lettuce that is more fibrous (romaine, iceberg, etc.) I tend to have more of a reaction to. Lately, however, when I do just eat an apple b/c I can't resist any longer, I take a bendryl before-hand, BUT my internal reactions seem to be getting worse the older I get - meaning esophagus, stomach, gut burning in addition to the mouth itchy/burn.
- —Guest OAS
This has been happening to me also
- ever since i can remember and type of fresh fruit made my throat itchy and swolen and juices from watermelon and other melons made my face red and puffy and peeling potatoes the juices from tha give me a horrible hand rash
- —Guest Artger
Watermelon make gums raw?
- Hi, I love eating fruit, and every summer I regularly eat a ton of watermelon. Almost literally! I can eat an entire watermelon in one night. Anyway, the past week I've had watermelon. I'm on my 2nd one. 3rd in two weeks. My gums started getting really raw last week, and I figured it was from a pineapple I ate. But it happened again last night and the night before, though I'd had no pineapple for a week. My gums were fine during the day. I just ate a big bowl of watermelon, and realized my gums were getting raw and I tasted blood. What the??? I googled this, and NOTHING came up. Could I have seriously developed an allergy to watermelon?? I have been getting more and more allergies the past few years (I'm 39), and now am supposed to stay away from wheat, and possibly soy. But watermelon?? No way?! I do get stomach pains soemtimes from other types of melons, as does my mother, but I cannot imagined how watermelon could possibly cause raw and bleeding gums. Anybody else have this reaction??
- —Guest Wondering
thanks for sharing!
- I started to get allergic reactions when i moved to canada from the philippines. i was never allergic to anything before. it started with cats, then i got a severe allergic reaction to a chocolate with hazelnut filling. then i started noticing my mouth and tongue getting itchy and swollen with fresh apples. then years later a severe (hospitalized in an ambulance!) allergic reaction to slightly greenish sugared walnuts with balsamic vinegar (these were homemade by someone) then one time i picked a cherry off a tree in a park. one cherry. my stomach started going crazy and my lips were swollen and itchy, as my tongue. tonight i started feeling the familiar sensation after eating a large plate of lettuce with honey mustard mayo. its gone away (lasted about 5 mins). i just ate the same lettuce yesterday to no effect! i can still eat lots of fruit but i am super wary of Indigenous fruits and vegggies from canada now. thanks for the helpful list of possible suspects. i will avoid them.
- —Guest nicole
Very Interesting!
- I have severe year-round allergies, and in recent years have developed an itchy mouth and mouth sores within minutes of eating certain foods. Unfortunately, my symptoms don't last for minutes as this article suggest, instead, they are still present hours later, even though I take allergy medicine daily. Thank you for this information - I will definitely make sure to ask my allergist about it next visit.
- —Guest Haley
people get fed up of hearing it!
- Not a nice condition but i thought i was the only one. Same as most of oas sufferers fresh fruit and veg(with me it is cauliflower) is my worst things. recently all shell fish with legs(as the allergy clinic told me).Does any one suffer moath ulcers and regular bouts of cystitus as well? Have the same symptoms as you,like swelling of face, mouth itching and red rashes, also have to take antihistamines,as i have a permanent cold symptoms(runny nose and sneezing). Now carry epipens,just in case.Good luck and thanks
- —Guest j raz
People think I'm Crazy
- As a child I was able to eat every type of raw fruit available no more. Apples, pears, plums, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, cherries, pineapples. I was a big fan of peanut butter & jelly no more the peanut butter causes a terrible reaction. I've always wondered is it something that's being done to these foods that's causing me to now be allergic?
- —ssapp
