The Makings of an Oral Allergy Syndrome Cookbook: Recipes for Oral Allergy Syndrome (2024)

FAQs

What foods should you avoid with oral allergy syndrome? ›

If you are allergic to birch tree pollen, you may develop oral symptoms when eating apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, plums, pears, almonds, hazelnuts, carrots, celery, parsley, caraway, fennel, coriander, aniseed, soybeans, or peanuts.

Causes of oral allergy syndrome

Oral allergy syndrome is due to a cross-reactivity between plant proteins from pollen and fruits or vegetables. When a child or adult with pollen allergy eats a raw fruit or vegetable, the immune system sees the similarity and causes an allergic reaction.

HOW IS ORAL ALLERGY SYNDROME TREATED? In most cases, simply avoiding the foods that cause symptoms, in their raw forms, is sufficient treatment. This might involve avoiding dried or dehydrated forms of the foods, since dried foods are not usually cooked and can still cause symptoms.

What is the most powerful natural antihistamine? Researchers haven't yet established any natural product as the “best” or “most powerful.” Natural antihistamines with the most research backing their use include stinging nettle, vitamin C, quercetin, butterbur, bromelain, and probiotics.

Avoid eating the foods raw. Cooking or heating generally destroys the proteins that cause OAS (e.g. raw apples may cause itching of the throat but not apples in a baked pie) Consider canned fruit, the canned version may be better tolerated than its raw counterpart (e.g. canned peaches vs. raw peaches)

Oral allergy triggers typically stem from the following offenders: Birch pollen: Kiwi, carrots, celery, almonds and hazelnuts, and pitted fruits, such as apples, peaches, plums and pears.

Allergy to spices and herbs often involves local reactions in the oral cavity causing itching of the mucosa, swelling of lips and tongue (oral allergy syndrome). Reactions have commonly been reported to anis, celery, coriander, cumin, fennel, parsley, ragweed, Echinacea, artichoke, dandelions and hibiscus^35,36.

While for some people, oral allergy syndrome will diminish over time, most people do not grow out of this condition. Therefore, one component of addressing OAS is managing it through avoidance. Cooking or peeling fruit and vegetables is often enough to stop allergic reactions.

Overview. Pollen Food Allergy Syndrome (PFAS), also known as oral allergy syndrome, is caused by cross-reacting allergens found in both pollen and raw fruits, vegetables, or some tree nuts.

The symptoms of oral allergy syndrome, or pollen-food allergy syndrome, typically last about 5 to 30 minutes after the food is consumed and usually resolve without treatment. It may sometimes last as long as a few hours. A common treatment is to take an antihistamine.

What does oral allergy syndrome feel like? ›

The most frequent symptoms of OAS include itchiness or swelling of the mouth, face, lip, tongue and throat. Symptoms usually appear immediately after eating raw fruits or vegetables, although in rare cases, the reaction can occur more than an hour later. OAS is generally considered to be a mild form of food allergy.

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is caused by cross reactivity between proteins in fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts with pollens. This syndrome occurs in a large number (up to 70 percent) of people with pollen allergy. The proteins in the fruit and vegetables causing OAS are easily broken down with cooking or processing.

A few studies have shown that allergy shots to the cross- reacting pollens can reduce or eliminate the OAS symptoms. Antihistamines such as Zyrtec, Benadryl, or Allegra can relieve the itching or mouth tingling. More severe reactions, although rare can be treated with epinephrine.

OAS is likely to be life long and some children will become allergic to other fruit and vegetables. If your child has mild oral allergy syndrome, they may tolerate peeled fruit, unripe or partially ripened fruit or really fresh fruit that's just been picked.

The majority of cases of food pollen syndrome reactions are mild such as mouth or lip itching or swelling, and stopping eating the food and drinking some water may be all you need to do reduce or eliminate the symptoms.