What is Oral Allergy Syndrome?
Posted on 4/25/2016 by Raymond Liu |
 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 SyndromeAnyone 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 YouIf 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. |
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