Is anyone allergic to fruit?

[slippysept]

Dd (16) has, over the past year or so, had allergic reactions to an increasingly wider range of fruit. It started with cherries where her lips swelled up quite considerably. Apples, raspberries and nectarines are the latest culprits. It's not as bad as the cherry reaction yet but she says her lips are starting to tingle on eating these. Mangoes seem to be okay.

I'm concerned though that the reaction is being triggered by a range of fruit now.

She has mild hay fever and eczema for which she occasionally takes anti-histamines.

Has anyone else had a reaction to fruit. Am wondering if we should see the GP or if there's anything we should he doing so as not to increase her reactivity.

Yes! I have oral allergy syndrome which started a few years ago when I developed hay fever. My GP just said to avoid the fruits that trigger a reaction.

I was allergic to kiwi and strawberry as a teen, and grew out of it in my early twenties, although I have reacted to a kiwi once since then. It's always been burnt/ tingly/ painful lips and tongue (and occasionally facial hives) without swelling for me.

Do speak to the doctor. Allergies are the symptoms of auto-immune issues, which can be serious or can be very mild. The fact that the issue seems to be worsening over time would be enough for me to seek a professional opinion.

For me, very acidic fruits have always been the worst for triggering a reaction.

Yes, my son has oral allergy syndrome (aka pollen food syndrome). It's caused by a cross reacting protein, usually if the fruit or veg is processed or heated it won't cause a reaction. It's definitely worth seeing the GP and getting seen by an allergy doc for testing/confirmation.

if you Google you can see the lists of which fruits link to which pollens.

Have you tried other fruits where you don't eat the skin? What about peeled apples? Cooked fruit? Obviously could be the fruits themselves, but could also be a reaction to the skin, especially when raw.

I have oral allergy syndrome too and react to certain fruits in the same way your daughter does . It didn't develop until I was in my 20s and leading up to the fruit ( and veg!) allergy my hay fever got progressively worse.
I went for allergy tests at St Thomas' when it was all confirmed.
I avoid the triggering fruit and veg but can eat them when they are cooked.

Yes a family member is. Not so bad as to need an epi pen but they have to carry anti histamines.

Your dd needs to be medically assessed to make an appointment with doctor.

FYI- hay-fever and fruit allergies are often linked, people with allergies to certain pollens may also have allergies to certain types of fruit.

Check her vit d levels as well, low vit d affects immune response so can increase allergic reactivity.

A colleague of mine became anaphylactic to strawberries in her packed lunch on her own in the staff room. They had to ring 999.

Id go to the dr.

Yes, DS16 has severe hay fever, asthma, eczema and oral allergy. He is allergic to:
peanuts
tree nuts
seeds
soy beans
lentils

and the raw (have to be cooked until floppy):
peaches
plums
nectarines
cherries
apples
pears
kiwis
strawberries
celery
carrot
fennel
beans
peas
beansprours
parsley
rocket
raw milk (reacts to the pollen traces from the grass the cows have eaten)

sure there’s others. His reaction varies as to time of year, currently as his hay fever is bad he is far more reactive

his worst ever reaction at primary school was to raw celery, I think they thought I was being a bit PFB until he could no longer speak and only bark

he had an épi pen (for the nuts mainly) normal anti histamines tend to bring a reaction under control, sometimes needs a one off dose of steroids and at Easter and in the summer every year he always needs a 2+ week course of oral steroids. He’s also in a 3 year trial of immunotherapy at Evalina but that’s cos he’s literally a prisoner from spring to autumn, it is not likely to help the food allergies much

it really helps to know what they are reacting to, for DS it’s beech, birch and ragwort families mainly (so no echinacea), that really helped when we were just despairing random it all seemed

I have this too - oral allergy syndrome. It started when I was around 12 with apples, then over the years expanded to raspberries, nectarines, peaches, plums... the list goes on!
It's all to do with the cross pollenation and it sounds like your daughter is allergic to the same one as me (birch tree pollen). Usually with oral allergy syndrome you can have the fruit if it has been cooked or frozen as the protein causing the allergy is 'killed'.
If you're worried about her getting her 5 a day, try the frozen bags of fruits to make smoothies 😊

Thanks everyone. I hadn't realised how common it was. Some really useful information that people have posted