Everything you need to know about fruit allergies
Posted: 30th March 2022 | Posted by Costa
Everything you need to know about fruit allergies
When you want a sweet snack, is there anything better than fruit? It’s the healthy alternative. It tastes good. It’s natural. What’s not to love? Well, for some people, there’s plenty to not love – especially when it triggers an allergic reaction.
Around 2% of UK adults have something called “pollen food syndrome”, causing a reaction when they eat fruit. But what else do you need to know about it? Let’s look at fruit allergies and what you can do about them.
More about fruit allergies
So, to start, what is pollen food syndrome? It’s a sensitivity to not only fruits, but vegetables and nuts too. AKA, plant-based food. As you can tell from the name, it’s related to pollen-bearing fruit and how a sensitivity to pollen also affects a person’s reaction to fruit. So there may be some crossover with hay fever.
This tends to happen with raw and fresh fruit. The proteins that cause the pollen food syndrome will change when heated or digested. So an allergic response is usually mild and immediate.
Do note that this isn’t the only cause of people reacting to fruit. Pretty much any food can cause a serious allergic reaction, and fruit is no different. In these cases, it likely isn’t pollen food syndrome, but an allergy to a specific fruit or fruit family.
Symptoms to look out for
In milder cases, you might experience:
- Swelling around the mouth and tongue
- Itching around the throat
- Oesophagus or stomach problems
- Sneezing or itchy eyes (or other hay-fever-like symptoms)
As we said before, it can be more severe. In those cases, you’re likely to see:
- Difficulty breathing
- Difficulty swallowing
- Anaphylaxis
For these serious symptoms, medical attention will be needed. Anaphylaxis is a dangerous reaction that can result in death.
What can cause a fruit allergy
What you react to with pollen food syndrome depends on the type of pollen you’re allergic to. A birch tree allergy, for example, might mean you react to apples, apricots, cherries, or kiwis.
Whereas an allergy to grass pollen might mean you react to melon or watermelon. And if it’s weed pollen, you could react to bananas. These lists aren’t exhaustive. What’s important is that you know what kind of allergies you have.
Because when you have this information, it makes it easier to avoid the fruits that can trigger you. If you’ve ever noticed a strange reaction to fruit, this could be the culprit. Now is the best time to talk with an allergy specialist about figuring out what the specific causes are. This will help you separate pollen food syndrome from other allergies and allow you to eat with true peace of mind.
Talk to one of our experts today. We can guide you through your allergy test results and advise you on how to live safely. To find out more, reach out to us on 02031 433 449. You can also join as a new patient here.