Call 425-310-5789

Dr Liu Family Dental
Edmonds, WA

REQ APT TOP BUTTON Raymond Liu DDS Edmonds WA General Cosmetic Dentist

What is Oral Allergy Syndrome?

Posted on 4/25/2016 by Raymond Liu

A collection of fruits that can cause an allergic reaction.

Have you ever eaten a peach only to have an itchy mouth immediately after the first bite? Has your tongue swollen from simply trying to enjoy an apple? If so, you could have oral allergy syndrome, which is also known as pollen-food allergy syndrome.

These reactions occur because your body isn't able to tell the difference between the proteins found in pollen and in these food items.

Signs of Oral Allergy Syndrome

Anyone can develop oral allergy syndrome, although it affects teenagers and adults more frequently than young children. Some of the symptoms of oral allergy syndrome include tingling, itching, and swelling, most of which will occur in the throat, lips, and mouth.

You should treat the condition like you would a pollen allergy, and the main ways to treat the problem will be antihistamines and epinephrine in the case of a severe reaction.

Foods that May Affect You

If you have oral allergy syndrome, it is important that you avoid trigger foods that might cause your allergies to worsen. These trigger foods will vary depending on your precise allergy. For example, if you are allergic to birch, food items like almonds, apples, carrots, peaches, and pears should all be avoided.

If you are allergic to ragweed, all of these food items are completely fine to eat, but you should avoid honeydew, watermelon, cucumber, and zucchini. Likewise, people with an allergy to latex need to stay away from chestnuts, kiwi, bananas, and avocado.

If you do choose to eat any of these trigger foods, you can minimize your risk of a reaction by cooking them first. Heat will break down proteins associated with oral allergy symptoms, but some items, such as celery, won't be affected.

Peeling your fruits or vegetables and eating canned varieties might also help, but none of these tactics will make the syndrome go away entirely.

Please contact us if you have any questions about oral allergy syndrome.

Exam room in dental chair at Dr Liu Family Dental in Edmonds, WA

Raymond Liu DDS at Dr Liu Family Dental in Edmonds, WA

Patient in exam chair at Dr Liu Family Dental in Edmonds, WA

Raymond Liu DDS at his office in Edmonds, WA

Unbeatable Customer Care

Unbeatable customer care and dental service. I feel valued as a customer and get detailed and thoughtful treatment. I couldn’t imagine going to another dental office.

Meet Our Doctor

Dr. Liu believes a beautiful, healthy smile is one of the best assets a person can have. He is committed to helping each patient achieve the best dental health possible, creating treatment plans catered to the individual. In order to provide top tier care, he attends numerous seminars and teachings throughout the year to keep up with the best and latest technological advances in dentistry.

Our Convenient Location