Anyone with Oral Allergy Syndrome?

I was diagnosed about 2 years ago with Oral Allergy Syndrome (which in a nutshell means I become allergic to the foods that cross-polenate with hayfever causing plants, things like celery, hazelnuts, carrots, kiwi, cantaloup, etc. and causes in me anaphylactic reactions in some cases) and at first I thought "at least that explains all my bizarre food allergies"...but now it's starting to scare me. I've developed allergies to the stuff that's on the typical list, and avoid those, but now I'm starting to get anaphylactic reactions to something and I haven't a clue what. And because it's stuff that I've normally had before with no problems, I don't know what to do. Is it worth doing a food diary to discover it or should I just avoid all the typical foods that cause reaction?

Last night I started a reaction that I'm sure would have gone anaphylactic if I hadn't caught it in time... I can usually take 2 extra strength benedryls and slow the reaction down, but I was still reacting this morning to whatever it was I ate last night (and I STILL don't know what it was).

I'd love to hear from others how they deal with OAS.

I don't have OAS, Kiki, but I really think you NEED to do a food diary and present it to your allergist ASAP. Eventually Benadryl won't be enough to stop anaphylaxis! I keep a log of all times when D is exposed to his allergens (mustard, strawberries, aloe, sulfa drugs--though he's NEVER exposed to that last one). I write down the exposure (friend touched him, he grabbed something off a shelf, etc) and the reaction, and then present it to his doctor the next time we go in. It's been the best way to monitor how things are going and if we need to take further precautions.

{{HUGS}} sweetie. Allergies suck, especially when they're like yours.

So sorry about this! Food allergies are scary--especially when new ones or cross reactions start giving you problems! I would go to your allergist. They can do allergy tests now with a blood sample. Since you have issues with plants, you should ask them to test you against trees/grasses as well as foods. That way, you will at least have a better idea of what to avoid. Sometimes, too, your system can be so overloaded that things that you are not even actually allergic too, can cause you problems. Ugh. Good luck. No fun at all.

Oh, and along with your food diary, you should note how the problem presents itstlf. Like did your mouth get itchy, did you have problems breathing, any rash, headaches, etc after eating something.

Oh it was my allergist that diagnosed me. I've been tested for all my allergies, environmental and otherwise. He said that the problem with doing a food diary with this type of thing is that it will be inconclusive because one day I'm not allergic, and then, bam, now I am, and it's for life.

So the type of food diary I do wouldn't necessarily turn up what I'm allergic to unless I did the diary for long periods of time.

I was just hoping that someone with OAS could tell me how they cope with it. I thought I could cope with it before, but now it is starting to scare me.

Yep sweets, got it too :thumbdown: But I disagree with the "it's for life" I react to apples and here and there nuts - Usually I don't react to either when cooked/baked. But if I am down, super tired, have hayfever badly I might react worse to the apples or nuts. The other day I made roasted almonds - and had a pretty bad reaction, the week before we had almonds in our dinner - no problem there.

I think it is worth it to write a diary.

Oh good to know Nathalie....my OAS seems to be pretty constant and severe...although, like you I can eat the foods cooked. All but the nuts. Can't have those at all.

I guess I'll try my best to do a diary. Maybe then I can identify the things that I've just become allergic to.

Thanks!

I would have to agree with keeping the food diary, along with other things you use and do. Cleaning products can agitate anyone with any kind of allergy, and things that are suppose to give you relief, can actually make you feel worse.

I found out the hard way. Menthol, which is an ingredient in the lip balm I use, is suppose to be good for you when you have sinus ailments. I use to work in a laboratory that required me to where a face mask. MOre than once, I would get this really bad burning sensation in my sinuses, and then I would end up with a sinus infection. I knew what I was allergic to, ragweed and dust mites, and I my exposure was pretty much under control. I started keeping track of everything I did, and I finally figured out that I was literally burning the lining of my nose, which caused swelling, leading to the sinus infection. I would put my lip gloss on after lunch, go back in to the lab, and put my mask on. The menthol vapors had no where to go but right up my nose. AFter I realiized what it was, I made sure never to apply my lip gloss at work again. That is what was causing it, because after I stopped using my lip gloss at work, I had no more burning sinuses!

Allergies are strange. My daughter has had a milk allergy since she was born, and all of a sudden three months ago, it was gone. She eats all kinds of milk products now, with no reaction at all. I use to have a reaction to strawberries when I was a kid, and they disappeared as well.

I hope you can figure out what is triggering your reactions. I know how frustrating allergies can be.

Leila said:

I don't have OAS, Kiki, but I really think you NEED to do a food diary and present it to your allergist ASAP. Eventually Benadryl won't be enough to stop anaphylaxis! I keep a log of all times when D is exposed to his allergens (mustard, strawberries, aloe, sulfa drugs--though he's NEVER exposed to that last one). I write down the exposure (friend touched him, he grabbed something off a shelf, etc) and the reaction, and then present it to his doctor the next time we go in. It's been the best way to monitor how things are going and if we need to take further precautions.

{{HUGS}} sweetie. Allergies suck, especially when they're like yours.

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I agree! That was the only way we were able to figure out what I was allergic to one year...I had allergy reaction after reaction after reaction ... ended up finding out I was allergic to penicillin, sulfa drugs, PLUMS (that started it all), and some other medications (we already knew my seasonal allergies) ... and then finally we figured out the RED DYE they use in the pills/capsules!!! Only through the diary were we able to finally nail it down! ...so now I have to have medications without the red dye (even used to have to cut open my capsules and put into a clear gel cap...that sucked when I had a bad headache...now we have found 1 mfr that makes it in clear capsules).

Good luck...and yes I say you should keep a diary! ... it might be the only way to narrow it down! I don't have it as bad as you do (not diagnosed with that type of allergies)... but that year I had all this...it was during the time I was pregnant and they had a hard time giving me things to help with all the hives (we even found out I couldn't take Benadryl because it had red dye in it...so what was supposed to be helping me...made it worse...thankfully they came out with clear Benadryl!) ...

This is really interesting because I think my sister has this! It started in college (when she was overseas, actually). She started getting allergic to the most random things. First it was celery (thats the worst one), then most squashes (zuccinni, pumpkin, etc.), then walnuts and broccoli (hit-and-miss with broccoli), and now a bunch of other stuff. She'll just eat something she's eaten a million times over the last 26 years and the next thing she knows, her tongue is swelling, her mouth is itchy, and she's on her way to an anaphalactic reaction. Luckily, like you Kiki, big doses of Benadryl tend to do the trick, but she still carries and EpiPen with her just in case.

I'm totally going to talk to her about this! Craziness!

Well, apparently I have it too. I just didn't know it was OAS. I am allergic to apples (it all started with those), pears, celery, carrots, all plums and peaches, all nuts except peanut (don't ask...), strawberries, pineapple. I can eat them cooked, except for nuts and celery, they are not "changed" enough by cooking. I have the allergy under control, and I'm pretty lucky since I need quite a huge amount of food to get a really bad reaction. I only got an anaphylactic reaction once, right after I got diagnosed, I ate a whole celery salad without realizing that the green part (which I got tested with) and the white part where the same plant... Really stupid, I know, but at least I learn my lesson and I now pay good attention!

My allergies have evolved, though. For example, I kept eating apples for a couple years before I found out I was allergic to them, and now I can barely peel and cut apples to make a pie. If I have even just a paper cut, my finger will get itchy, red, and burning. Same thing if I breathe too close when I'm cutting them, or if I scratch my nose or eye (Ugh, bad idea!!!). I also got allergic to pineapple, which I wasn't before.

I've been told by my allergist that we often take food "intolerances" for allergies. They both can create the same kind of reactions, but the difference is that allergies will "grow" (you get a stronger and stronger reaction each time you get in contact with the allergen) when the intolerances will come (and sometimes go away) all of a sudden, without any warning sign, often when you're especially tired or already sick (for example when you already have hay fever).

I would definitely recommend keeping a food diary, or at least writing down what you ate and did everytime you have a reaction of some sort. ((((hugs))))

Chloe that sounds exactly like how it all started for me...except the apples. It started with celery and went anaphylactic almost immediately. We didn't know it was celery because I had always eaten it with dinner as a snack. That it until my mom made spaghetti sauce and put celery seed in it. Then we figured it out. Celery and nuts most often cause the anaphylactic reactions, but they are still quite rare.

Well it seems I got help and also maybe gave some. Thanks ladies!

Yikes girls. This is scary stuff. I've got allergies, but I don't think they are oral ones. One day though when I went out to lunch with my mom at Baja Fresh, I ate something, my throat started swelling, I was having difficulty breathing and had to drive myself to the doctors. I talked to them the whole way because my mom wasn't sure she could drive there. Talk about scary...I was trying not to panic and couldn't breathe! I actually had to go on prednisone to finally knock it out.

Ok, maybe someone can help me with this though. I think my oldest son (he's 26) is allergic to cold...especially ice. He dove into the ocean about 8 years ago and went into shock (this was California, so I'm not talking frigid waters here). He blacked out, passed out, and then slept the rest of the afternoon at the beach where he couldn't even see. I wasn't there...he was at a birthday party for a friend (and his parents were there), but NO one called me or took him to a doctor. If he goes to the snow and snow gets into his glove at the wrist, he swells up and it itches him terribly. He worked at Starbucks for awhile and he'd have to put his hands in ice water at the end of a shift, and same thing would happen. He went to the beach with us a few years ago and only went in up to his legs...just playing frisbee with his brothers, and he got the prickly itchy swelling again. So...has anyone heard of this? He lives far away now and doesn't have good insurance, so he hasn't seen a doctor. I think it's scary though, and thankfully he doesn't live in a cold climate.