In this day and age,unfortunately there are tons of families that have to live with scary food allergies. Carrying an epi- pen is a way of life and schools have become "nut- free". This brings me to the question .....Do your kids ever say that certain foods make their mouth itchy or tingly? Next question...have you ever heard of oral allergy syndrome? Nope me neither
I 'll back track a bit and tell the not so fun story of the day my 3 year daughter gave us quite the scare one summer afternoon. She broke out in hives on her face and her lips swelled while eating lunch. Lunch can be a struggle with our feisty little girl, but this particular day she was feasting on cherry tomatoes, green peppers, grilled chicken and rice. Nothing new was introduced that day. In fact she had every one of foods many times. About half way through lunch, I noticed a little redness on her chin, but thought it may be from the acidity of the tomatoes. About 15 minutes later, her bottom lip was swelling and she was complaining of an itchy mouth. We quickly gave her Benadryl and loaded the kids in the car to get her evaluated. Thankfully, our girl did not ever experience difficulty breathing and responded well to the Benadryl. She did not require an epi-pen injection. One week later, we were in the allergist's office and skin testing revealed multiple allergies including environmental, several fruits and vegetables that she has had hundreds of times, and the scariest of all peanuts and tree nuts. WHAT??? What was going on here? All of a sudden my picky eater now has to stay away from so many healthy foods that she would actually eat. Blood work was ordered and luckily the results of many of the nut allergies came back very low. Carrying an epi- pen and a food challenged was suggested. 2 food challenges and literally 6 hours in the allergist office with our brave girl and Yay!!!....she is not allergic to any nuts after all. So what does our little girl actually have? She has something called Oral Allergy Syndrome.
So here is the wikipedia definition... OAS is a food-related allergy that is common in adults.
It is not a separate food allergy but rather represents cross reacting of tree or weed pollen still found in uncooked fruits and vegetables . Certain types of fruits, vegetables, and nuts can trigger the symptoms. The symptoms occur because the proteins in these certain foods are similar to the proteins in some pollens and the immune system is confused and results in an allergic reaction.
Some more facts include...people who are allergic to pollen have a 50% chance of developing oral allergy syndrome. Apples and pollen is one of the most common cross reactions. The list is unfortunately long but some other foods include peaches, pears, kiwi, plums, fennel, parsley, celery. Most children and adults with OAS will experience symptoms only when eating fresh fruits and veggies and some nuts. Luckily in most cases these foods are tolerated when cooked because cooking changes the shape of the food molecules so that it doesn't bind to the allergenic protein. Someone may be completely fine eating apple pie or apple sauce but have reaction to a raw apple. A minority of people cannot tolerate the raw or cooked version of a food.
There is good news!!!! It is very rare in kids (My poor baby:( ), and rarely associated with anaphylaxis ( less than 2%). The reaction is usually short-lived and usually limited to itchy or tingly sensations in the mouth. Antihistamines such as Benadryl may provide temporary relief but the only real treatment is to avoid the offending foods.
So where does that leave us? We are still carrying the eli-pen just in case and I am very slowly challenging our girl with small amounts of thoroughly washed and pealed fruits and veggies. I am always very cautious and watch her like a hawk while she is eating. Even at her young age she has become aware of what to not eat and the Benadryl is always on hand.
References:Wikipedia
WebMd
American Journal of Allergy and Immunology
Initial reaction also consisted of lip swelling.
