Allergy to cucumber/apples?

[idobelieveinfairies]

I think my ds aged 10 may be allergic to cucumber and now perhaps apples.

He is a very fussy eater and out of all fruit and veg these are the only 2 things he likes...but recently his lips have been tingling and then swelling after eating cucumber, i didn't think much of it at first but he complains every time now. He has now just told me it is starting to happen when eating apples!!

It only irritates him for a couple of hours after eating them. Should i take him to the G.P to get this confirmed? Could the allergic reaction get worse over time??

Help..not sure what to do!!!

[lizziemun]

sounds like the reaction I have when eating apples.

Although i do find if i peel apples first i don't have a reaction. So i don't know if it is a chemical they spray the apples with.

[chloesmumtoo]

Yes I would definately have it confirmed/checked out. My dd has many allergies to foods. Some requiring total avoidance. She does have a mild allergy to cucumber, although mild compared to her others so she has been told it is still ok for her to eat. It sounds worse with your ds and with swelling I would definately make sure he should be eating it? Linked to the cucumber allergy can be carrots, melon and celery - all to which my dd is also allergic too! My dd has anaphylactic reactions to nuts and so with some foods care should be taken.

[chloesmumtoo]

Yes lizziemum, sometimes I have heard things can be triggered via chemicals. Another serious one linked to the cucumber allergy is latex. This can be made worse via exposure. My dd has not got this but due to having many of the linking allergies, has been told via pead not to eg blow baloons up(putting latex in her mouth) and I ask her dentist not to use latex gloves as to not trigger the allergy.

[wb]

Yes talk to the GP. could be oral allergy syndrome - does he get hayfever?

[idobelieveinfairies]

Hi thanks for your replies..i will take him to the doctor and see what he can do next.

Yes he gets very mild hayfever, started 2 years ago, slightly worse last year, not looking forward to this year. His older brother was the same got worse year after year, he suffers badly with it now, think it is tree pollen though as it is worse early spring/late summer. Is there a link with hayfever then?

[shonaspurtle]

I believe (although I don't have allergies) that it's quite common for an allergy to tree fruits to actually be an allergy to pollen, hence being able to eat peeled or cooked fruit.

[pointydog]

personally I'd just tell your ds not to eat cucumber. If it's ahppening with apples, avoid apples for a while.

[lizziemun]

Shona

It's funny you mention about tree pollen allergies as i suffer from them to. Everything from tree pollen through to fungi spores in late sept/oct time.

Pointy

It's ok to avoid cucumber, but apple are used as a natural perserative (sp) in a lot of juices and fruit puddings.

[pointydog]

Then I'd fin dout if it also happened when eating/drinking a product where apple juice is just one ingredient

[daisydoris]

If you go to a chinese herbalist they will take a chunk of hair and send it off to be analysed for allergies. I had this done and found the results astonishing. Stopped my allergies almost immediately by cutting out certain foods and additives. They also tell you what vits to take to help you prevent these allergies too. P.S don't buy anything from them just the allergy test which costs about £40, but well worth it.

[pointydog]

what's the science behind that, daisy?

[daisydoris]

I don't know but it has worked for me and many of my friends who have allergies. Some are sceptical obviously but I had a good outcome and all my allergies dissapeared.I know they do the same thing on the net somewhere too.

[daisydoris]

p.s You have a detailed printout of all your allergens.

[psychomum5]

I am allergic to apples...........in fact, allergic to all tree fruits now (and when tested, also to certain pollens and grasses).

it is to do with the pollens that are released during the spring, and then stored in the peel of said fruit and veg.......I am supposedly ok with the cooked version of the fruit and veg I react to, bt am to scared to try after going into allergic shock from apple juice and then a smoothie.

mouth tingling is supposedly due to oral allergy syndrome, and so not connected to a true allergy, but for me it manifested over a year or so into full-blown serious allergy so take care.

[soddingNorks]

this thread has probably gone cold but in case not: oral allergy syndrome is real allergy, and the OP should get the kid checked out, at an allergy clinic in a big NHS hospital.

In the progression now commonly observed of allergic reactions, oral allergy syndrome is the step that comes before anaphylaxis. In the particular case here, it usually goes hayfever -> much worse hayfever + itchy lips + itchy eyes on eating apples -> occasional rashes with worsening of lips/mouth & hayfever -> Oral Allergy Syndrome every time apples are eaten -> anaphylaxis.

It may never progress beyond OAS and let's hope for the kid's sake that it doesn't, but OAS should ring BIG warning bells and be treated very seriously.

Also the next step beyond not being able to eat rosaceae fruit is possibly not being able to eat tree nuts, and then after that peanuts: tree nuts are hard enough to avoid, but peanuts are a total nightmare. So avoiding all possible escalations is a good idea!

The reason hayfever and apple allergy (indeed all rosaceae fruits: pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries...) go together is NOT that pollens are stored in the peel of fruit and veg (although it is plausible, there wouldn't be a pattern of specific fruits going with hayfever if it were just htat), it is because there are molecules on the outsides of the pollens that are roughly the same shape as the molecules on the outside of cells in the fruit. Your immune system recognises things by shape and just reacts every time it sees that shape (which is why allergies get worse over time).

Sorry if it sounds like I'm pontificating bossily, but I've nearly died of anaphylaxis many times, and as it happens I'm also an immunologist. I've just discovered I've progressed all the way to the dreaded peanut allergy and am pretty pissed off with my stupid immune system.... an argument against intelligent design if ever there was one...