Weird reaction to fruit!

[Faithr]

This has happened to me on and off for a couple of years but everytime I eat fruit lately my tongue starts to sting and I get little sores. Blech! I have avoided oj for a long time because it makes my face get eczema type outbreaks. But what is it with apples, grapes, strawberries and even bananas???? I ate blueberries and they were okay.

Does anyone else have this weird reaction to fruit? What is my problem? Do you know?

[OnTheBrink]

My dd has the same issues. She can't eat raw apples, bananas, oranges, or peaches but can eat berries, plums, and grapes with no problems. She can eat any fruit if it's canned or cooked. Very weird allergies, I guess.

[Kathleen in VA]

If I overdue it on fruit my mouth and lips sting. I can understand that with orange juice and strawberries, maybe apples and grapes, but I'm not getting why a banana would do that. I always attributed my reaction to too much acid. Perhaps you have developed a hypersensitivity to the acid in these fruits, but I don't think of bananas as being a particularly acidic food. It really sounds like you may be having an allergic reaction, not necessarily a chemical one. Perhaps you should see an allergist.

[Rhonda in TX]

We had allergy testing done and she tested positive for everything except blueberries (which they told us to avoid - just in case). She also tested positive for nuts, peanuts, and latex. Oh, joy. We are now the proud owners of an epi-pen and an allergy reaction plan. Oh, double joy.

It sounds like an allergic reaction to me. And yes, you can be allergic to ALL fruit.

[nakitty]

This has happened to me on and off for a couple of years but everytime I eat fruit lately my tongue starts to sting and I get little sores. Blech! I have avoided oj for a long time because it makes my face get eczema type outbreaks. But what is it with apples, grapes, strawberries and even bananas???? I ate blueberries and they were okay.

Does anyone else have this weird reaction to fruit? What is my problem? Do you know?

Minus the eczema part....I could have written this post. I have asked doctors and they seem as clueless as myself...I have contemplated going to an allergist but have yet to do so.... that's what I am assuming the problem is... but the reaction is not bad enough to quit eating my beloved fruits! :blush:

[Raders Fan]

It was determined that she was having a reaction to pesticides on the fruits. Just a thought.

[mommytobees]

It sounds like a number of people have this issue.

What this is called is OAS Oral Allergy Syndrome.

Now, this is VASTLY different than what Rhonda in TX's dd has.

Basically put, OAS is your body's response to you eating your environmental allergies. Say you are allergic to ragweed (as I am). When certain fruits and veggies are growing and/or ripening it takes the things that are in the environment into its bulk. Then, when you eat the fruit/veggie you are eating and placing your environmental allergens onto the soft and moist skin of your mouth. So, you get a dermatological response.

Watch what you eat, where it comes from, what season it grows/ripens in, and if you have a problem with it afterwards.

Kris, who has severe food allergies, OAS, and children with both

[Mom to Aly]

I have had that reaction to strawberries forever, then tomatoes, then pineapple, and I kept adding fruit, so I thought it was an allergy. Recently, I started getting little cuts around the ends of my lips (you know, the corners), and getting the cuts or sores on my tongue almost all the time and I asked two docs, and they said it was a vitamin deficiency, but neither knew which. I finally asked my most trusted pharmacist, and he told me to get a B complex, especially because of the fruit thing--he also told me vegetarians are often low in B's (I was raised vegetarian). And B's go out of your body if you don't need them, like vitamin C!

I can now, for the first time in forever, eat strawberries, tomatoes, etc, as much as I like, and no prob!!! Totally took care of it!!! I would ask your pharmacist, but it is worth a try!!!

[susie in tx]

Instead of an allergy, it could be a geographic tongue. I have had this since I was a young girl and one of my dd's has it.

It's triggered her by spicy foods or food that have a lot of acid in them such as tomatoes, strawberries, citrus...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_tongue

[Faithr]

Thanks all! I guess I need to go to the doctors! I'm going to try taking a B complex vitamin though. Lately I just feel like I am falling apart. If my joints don't ache I've got a migraine and when I'm feeling okay, my tongue breaks out in sores!!

I don't like getting old!

Thanks again, ladies!

[Heather in Savannah]

It sounds like a number of people have this issue.

What this is called is OAS Oral Allergy Syndrome.

Now, this is VASTLY different than what Rhonda in TX's dd has.

Basically put, OAS is your body's response to you eating your environmental allergies. Say you are allergic to ragweed (as I am). When certain fruits and veggies are growing and/or ripening it takes the things that are in the environment into its bulk. Then, when you eat the fruit/veggie you are eating and placing your environmental allergens onto the soft and moist skin of your mouth. So, you get a dermatological response.

Watch what you eat, where it comes from, what season it grows/ripens in, and if you have a problem with it afterwards.

Kris, who has severe food allergies, OAS, and children with both

my daughter's allergy. She gets an itchy, thick throat from many fruit. I have tried to figure out what the commonality is...spoke with my Uncle who is a chemical engineer...wondering if it was the pesticide sprays, etc., but nothing could explain the unconnectedness. Possibly your thoughts on this are a viable explanation, Kris. I'll definitely begin to research OAS. Thanks so much.
Heather

[Anne Rittenhouse]

mine turned out to be a reaction to pesticides. Does it happen when you eat unsprayed fruit?

[Lolly]

my daughter's allergy. She gets an itchy, thick throat from many fruit. I have tried to figure out what the commonality is...spoke with my Uncle who is a chemical engineer...wondering if it was the pesticide sprays, etc., but nothing could explain the unconnectedness. Possibly your thoughts on this are a viable explanation, Kris. I'll definitely begin to research OAS. Thanks so much.
Heather
Question: Does her throat get itchy when eating canned fruit as well as fresh? My dd cannot eat any fruits of vegetables that have not been heated without her throat swelling up. I figured it might be pesticides, but non treated fruits react the same way for her. Some digging led me to discover that this is becoming a more common allergy problem. The person is reacting to a pollen that is present in the fruit. If your dd is allergic to certain trees, she has the potential to develop an allergy to certain fruits. When heated, the molecule is broken apart and doesn't cause a reaction. So, dd simply cannot eat fresh fruits or veggies. They have to be heated. Thank goodness she can handle canned food! Poor thing used to love fresh fruits and salads. There have been specific links to allergies to certain trees that become allergies to certain fresh fruits. Dd was allergic to every tree and latex (a biggie in this type of allergy) that crossed over to a fresh fruit allergy.