To ask for your help with DD's allergy.

[Happyland8]

A few months back, DD came out in terrible hives one evenings. The only thing she had eaten that day out with the ordinary was some raspberry jam and we hadn't changed any other products (washing powder etc) so I put two and two together and figures out that it was probably caused by the jam. Fast forward a month and we were at a family gathering. DD ate strawberries and shortly after, some raised red patches on her face appeared. I took DD to see the GP who advised not to cut them out at this stage so as to build more evidence. Anyway, yesterday DH was making himself a smoothie with some strawberries in it. DD asked if she could have some so we let her try some. A few minutes later, she said "mummy my tongue is stinging". The strange thing is, things that are strawberry/raspberry flavoured (yoghurts, those bear kids snacks etc) don't seem to be affecting her, it's only actual strawberries and raspberries. I've gone ahead and called nursery and asked them not to give her strawberries or raspberries or jams anymore. They've been accommodating. Is it worth going back to the GP or am I best to just manage this myself? Is it likely that strawberry/raspberry flavoured things might begin to cause her to react? Sorry, I'm quite clueless with this and the GP seemed dismissive last time. I just want to ensure I'm not exposing her to something she could potentially have a severe reaction to. I'm hoping some mums on here might have experience of similar allergies. Thank you.

Pics attached although rash was much worse on her bum (don't want to attach those pics for obvious reasons)

Oh really Athena? It's a different GP I'm seeing today so hopefully he'll take it more seriously.

GP didn't feel there was any need for a referral and said that tingling of the tongue isn't really of concern to them unless it's accompanied by swelling of the lips or a sort of scratching of the throat. He said to avoid strawberries, raspberries and any foods containing these and to ensure we always have some portion with us.

Portion should be piriton.

The NICE guidelines say that if an Ige allergy is suspected (which this sounds like), the GP should be referring for skin prick or blood tests to confirm.
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG116

If I were you I’d go back to the GP armed with a printed copy of the guidelines with relevant parts highlighted. And would refuse to leave without a referral for testing.

I also thought oral allergy syndrome, where raw or lightly cooked fruits can cause a range of symptoms including rashes, mouth & throats tingling & swelling. Even if you get no further with your GP initially please do not hesitate to give piriton if she starts to react to anything - speed can sometimes make a big difference to the reactions. Always call 999 if you think that it has affected her breathing, her throat or she starts to cough having complained of mouth or throat tingling. In our experience the emergency services always respond as quickly as they can to allergy / anaphylactic symptoms.

be prepared for it to take an AGE to get an allergy test appointment though....

My DD constantly vomited after any berry until she was 2 but Isfine with them now! Take them away for now and try introducing them in controlled conditions in a year and in small quantities

Wonderingagain21 The GP told me that strawberries are not the type of fruit where it's only a problem to eat them raw. I think he said the proteins don't change when you cook them (or something like that). He actually double checked it when we were there so he knew for sure.

I stand corrected - could the yogurt have contained only synthetic flavouring? Would that explain the lack of reaction or have I misread your original post.

The GP isn't right. My DS gets non-I've mediated allergic responses to fresh strawberries (non-anaphylactic reactions) but can eat extensively baked strawberries.

I'd be very concerned about the stinging tongue feeling. That's the first sign we got that DS was anaphylactic to other things.

I've got an appointment at the allergy clinic myself (waiting for a date for it at the moment). I can discuss this with them at my appointment to get some advice. It's concerning when GPs are giving out incorrect information, especially when it comes to something that can become life threatening 😩

I think accurate knowledge of allergies can be hard to find even among Drs. Medicine a such a huge subject & Drs cannot possibly know everything, even the amazing ones. Become knowledgable & your dds advocate & trust to some degree your own findings. Everyone is different & can react differently.

I had a similar reaction when I was a child. I had an allergy test back then (30 years ago) and strawberries were identified as the cause, so surely it must be well recognised by now! I would go and see a different GP. I avoided eating strawberries well into adulthood but I can eat them without any problems now.

Yes please push for an appt with the allergy specialist at the hospital. Both my girls got referred from the gp after similar reactions to nuts/seeds/eggs/fish and now they have epipens each.

Pleased you've pushed for an allergy clinic appointment yourself. Not sure how old your dd is but am guessing quite young as she's at nursery. It's therefore possible that whilst she mentioned her tongue her throat was also scratchy and she didn't say that. When DS had his first reaction he was about 3 I think and said his tongue tickled - there were hives round his mouth but he never mentioned his throat (although I suspect that felt odd as he downed a full glass of milk whilst I was finding piriton to give him).