Oral Allergy Syndrome
cupcakesplz
Posts: 237 Member
hi
I have OAS
I am only able to eat lettuce, onion, cabbage, Apple, lemon without my lips swelling up.
I can about 4 grapes, a small amount of cucumber, carrot and one thin slice of tomato until the swelling kicks in.
I do eat a lot of coleslaw and love it
I eat lots of onion and lettuce in everything too.
So having fruit salad, salads and smoothies are a big no no for me.
What other ways can I get health snacks without a trip to the hospital LOL
I have OAS
I am only able to eat lettuce, onion, cabbage, Apple, lemon without my lips swelling up.
I can about 4 grapes, a small amount of cucumber, carrot and one thin slice of tomato until the swelling kicks in.
I do eat a lot of coleslaw and love it
I eat lots of onion and lettuce in everything too.
So having fruit salad, salads and smoothies are a big no no for me.
What other ways can I get health snacks without a trip to the hospital LOL
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Replies
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Can you meat?0
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Nuts? Granola bars? Cereal? Not sure what all that allergy entails...if all else fails, ask your dr?0
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If if can only eat what you describe, how did you get to be overweight? Twenty pounds of onion and lettuce per day?0
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OAS - Oral allergy syndrome, also known as pollen-food syndrome,is caused by cross-reacting allergens found in both pollen and raw fruits, vegetables, or some tree nuts. The immune system recognizes the pollen and similar proteins in the food and directs an allergic response to it. People affected by oral allergy syndrome can usually eat the same fruits or vegetables in cooked form because the proteins are distorted during the heating process, so that the immune system no longer recognizes the food.
The foods I said I could only eat are the only raw fruit vegetables and nuts I can eat otherwise it all needs to be cooked.0 -
Popcorn, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, steamed broccoli or carrots. Eat what you always have, only in moderation.0
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I have similar allergies and I seem to find more than enough calories in processed foods! Ha. Though, I am trying to cut down on the processed foods, eating more nuts, beans and meats for me has helped.0
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or cook your food?
eta: oral allergy sounds like a relationship deal-breaker lol0 -
If it helps any, I had this before it had a name. All kinds of allergists were interested and had heard about it and would talk my ear off about "Maybe this" and "Maybe that." It's the seeds. No, it's the stalk remnants. No, it's...whatever. I didn't care. I couldn't eat stuff I liked unless I cooked it. Steaming didn't do it, but baking, boiling or drowning in sugar (like canned peaches in heavy syrup, but not light syrup) did the trick.
For many years, people (non-allergist people) thought I was lying. Because it wasn't possible...because they'd never heard of it and nobody they knew had it. Plus, there was no name for it, lol. "You're allergic to it fresh, but can eat it cooked? THEN you're not allergic?" Lots of suspicious questions and "You just don't like it," type comments. People are so annoying when they don't know something, so assume they know more. Ugh.
Sugar pop and a Benadryl helped ease my swollen, itchy mouth if I ate a bitty bit of something.
It started with bananas as a teen and got worse and worse, with more fresh food options eliminated. It was so bad I couldn't eat any fresh produce and had to cook everything. Then - almost in reverse order of how they left me, they started coming back.
It all turned around. Bananas, raw carrots and fresh tomato are now the only things I can't eat. I never liked fresh tomato or carrots, but I'm still hoping for bananas!! I MISS bananas. (Banana bread, though, is cool.)
Hope it turns around for you.
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I felt the same and still have people think I am nuts!
My sister tells me I should wash it harder!
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cupcakesplz wrote: »I felt the same and still have people think I am nuts!
My sister tells me I should wash it harder!
You can explain it until you're blue in the face. People who don't want to believe things just won't. When they're being especially dumb, I'd just give up. There are none so blind as those who will not see.
It helps a lot to have a name for it, now. People tend to believe things that have names more than things that are explained to them.
Melons! I forgot about melons. Even as a child, I couldn't eat melons and still cannot. But melon-flavored things, I love. And cukes are out, but pickles are in. 0 -
I have this too! I thought I was crazy until I happen to be dating the son of an allergist and asked him what it might be. He knew immediately when I mentioned the reaction to bananas and carrots, but somehow only seasonally.
I'm lucky in that everything freezes over in the winter here so there's no pollen to react with in my mouth. Winter I can usually eat anything...except melon. I can never eat melon.
Good luck! I know how annoying it is. Once my lip swelled up to the size of a golf ball while I was out shopping because I ate a banana without thinking.
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I love melons! Too!! Just not my body.
My get so depress when I see people eating and drinking health meals filled with raw fruit and vegetables.
Or when people tell you to eat fruit and vegetables to loss weight.
I have only just found out that what I have been going through the past 20 years has a name and now I am feeling a lot happier about0 -
My husband has this too. He can do cooked and sometimes frozen... Something about freezing can help destroy the pollen like cooking can. Have you ever tried thawing frozen berries or something and giving that a try?0
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Ha - Yes! I feel crazy when I have to tell people what I can or can't eat. I'm a real blast ordering in a restaurant! My carrot and cherry 'allergies' are so bad that cooking doesn't help. I have even been known to ask to smell people's fruit - I miss stone fruit so bad!! and apples. and carrots. :P I have had anaphalactic (sp?) reactions to carrots and cherries so now I carry an epi-pen. Sorry - I'm ranting. I could go on for days with allergy annoyances. It is refreshing to hear about people who have the same issues - such a huge pain in the butt!
Here are some the fruit/veggie things I can still eat raw:
raspberries/blueberries
spinach
citrus (lots of oranges and pineapple)
broccoli/cauliflower
bell peppers
cucumber (didn't realize this was a problem for some people - that sucks)
bananas (ditto the above - really sucks)
avocado
nuts (I have had some issues with almonds but pistachios are great)
not raw but... in the summer I keep roasted fruit (peaches and nectarines) in the fridge for an easy snack
lettuce (but even that is limited by ibs - no spring greens, raddichio, kale...)
tomatoes
Have any of you had more serious reactions? or reactions just from touching something? do you have other allergies or related issues (aside from pollen
) like asthma?
@Kalikel you give me hope - I didn't know this could improve. So far mine are still getting worse - green beans were the latest to go for me (even cooked!!).0 -
When Avocado touches my lips they swell straight away
I can't eat them cook too
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Actually, I'd heard of the allergic reaction but never the name for it. That would be frustrating. I developed an allergy to onion and garlic in my mid-20s, and i have noticed that cooking or using powdered versions of those can prevent anaphylactic reactions...although i still have reactions, they just aren't as bad. Yet...
But i would say, eat what you know you can eat. I don't think there is much else you can do. Hopefully it turns around for you like it did for kalikel, good luck to everyone here 0 -
Oh my goodness- I thought I was all alone on this! Tomatoes, apples, grapes, bananas; I could go on and on. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this!
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Yeah, my wife claims she has that, too. I'm not buying it!0
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I can only eat berries, basically. Every other fresh fruit? Forget it. Gotta cook 'em all. Vegetables I'm fine with. It blows huge chunks, because I'd love to throw a piece of fruit in my lunch for a snack. Pain in the @$$. FML.
I sneak one or two cherries when they're in season because I can't resist, but any more than that and I seriously regret it. Apples make my mouth region peel like I've got third degree sunburn. I get blisters everywhere from any kind of stone fruit. Bananas, kiwis and basically any other kind of fruit make me itchy as hell. It's just not worth it.0 -
cupcakesplz wrote: »OAS - Oral allergy syndrome, also known as pollen-food syndrome,is caused by cross-reacting allergens found in both pollen and raw fruits, vegetables, or some tree nuts. The immune system recognizes the pollen and similar proteins in the food and directs an allergic response to it. People affected by oral allergy syndrome can usually eat the same fruits or vegetables in cooked form because the proteins are distorted during the heating process, so that the immune system no longer recognizes the food.
The foods I said I could only eat are the only raw fruit vegetables and nuts I can eat otherwise it all needs to be cooked.
So you're just talking raw state of grown foods?
Whilst that must be a pain I'm failing to see the problem. Cook food and leave it in your fridge for snackage ...no?0 -
I've developed an allergy to carrots, and the reactions are the same.
cook what you can, try freezing foods as the extreme cold can break down the allergens, and avoid the rest.
http://myfridgefood.com/
this might help you put together some foods'/recipes that you can eat and enjoy0 -
Silly question... You say your lips swell when the food touches it, can you just carefully put the food into your mouth avoiding the area that will swell?
Also what about smoothies through a straw?0 -
I have this reaction to pineapple. I get swelling and pain inside my whole mouth like it was burned. I like pineapple but not enough to suffer for it so I just avoid it. It started as an adult. I haven't had a reaction to other foods yet.
If you can eat the food cooked, then just eat it cooked. Maybe roast or grill the vegetables or make fruit or vegetable chips.
Have cabbage, lettuce or pasta salads.
Cook vegetables in soup or a stir fry.
Cook fruit and puree it for smoothies? I don't think something would have to be raw to be put in a smoothie. Homemade applesauce is easy to make.
Can you eat beans or lentils? Roasted chickpeas, hummus, bean or lentil salad.
Eat things like cheese, meats, hard boiled eggs, rice balls, popcorn, yogurt, cabbage rolls, lettuce wraps, nuts, seeds, chex mix.
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I have this reaction to pineapple. I get swelling and pain inside my whole mouth like it was burned. I like pineapple but not enough to suffer for it so I just avoid it. It started as an adult. I haven't had a reaction to other foods yet.
If you can eat the food cooked, then just eat it cooked. Maybe roast or grill the vegetables or make fruit or vegetable chips.
Have cabbage, lettuce or pasta salads.
Cook vegetables in soup or a stir fry.
Cook fruit and puree it for smoothies? I don't think something would have to be raw to be put in a smoothie. Homemade applesauce is easy to make.
Can you eat beans or lentils? Roasted chickpeas, hummus, bean or lentil salad.
Eat things like cheese, meats, hard boiled eggs, rice balls, popcorn, yogurt, cabbage rolls, lettuce wraps, nuts, seeds, chex mix.
Actually, pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain which acts to break down proteins. While you're eating the pineapple, the pineapple is also eating your mouth (well, breaking down the protein in the top layers of your cheeks, lips, tongue, and gums, anyway).0 -
My whole mouth felt swollen. Gums, the roof of my mouth, everything. It's less actually and visually swollen than it is raw and irritated. I can't really describe it. There is nothing else like it. If you took a very hard toothbrush and scrubbed the roof of your mouth for a while, that would come kind of close.Silly question... You say your lips swell when the food touches it, can you just carefully put the food into your mouth avoiding the area that will swell?
Also what about smoothies through a straw?
My lips didn't swell out, it was an inside thing. And my lips were less of a problem than the roof of my mouth and inner gums.
It's just wickedly uncomfortable and kind of itchy...but not the same kind of itch as skin. More of a prickly tingle, especially the cheeks and lips, but also the hard parts.
When it would happen, I'd have to get something else in my mouth. Water didn't help, but sugar pop (not diet) did. Syrup helped, but stuffing didn't. Thick meat sauce (like from stew) was good, but pancakes weren't. Hard things hurt because they irritated what was already irritated. Salty things didn't help.
It's just weird. It's a "you have to experience it" kind of thing, I think.
I never tried smoothies, but unless the food was submerged in some kind of very sugary syrup for an extended period, smoothies would've been out. Way out. A solid pice of food would cause less trouble than a whole mouthful.
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My mom has this issue, although she also gets burning in her throat. It's a total bummer.
You could try doing some batch cooking on the weekends (or whenever it fits into your schedule). Make some meals that you like, and make snack portions and full portions. You could also do this with the veggies that you might like to eat, so you can have cooked veggie snacks. Sucks that you can't have salads. Sometimes you just get a craving!0 -
My whole mouth felt swollen. Gums, the roof of my mouth, everything. It's less actually and visually swollen than it is raw and irritated. I can't really describe it. There is nothing else like it. I'd you took a very hard toothbrush and scrubbed the roof of your mouth for a while, that would come kind of close.Silly question... You say your lips swell when the food touches it, can you just carefully put the food into your mouth avoiding the area that will swell?
Also what about smoothies through a straw?
My lips didn't swell out, it was an inside thing. And my lips were less of a problem than the roof of my mouth and inner gums.
It's just wickedly uncomfortable and kind of itchy...but not the same kind of itch as skin.
It's just weird. It's a "you have to experience it" kind of thing, I think.
I never tried smoothies, but unless the food was submerged in some kind of very sugary syrup for an extended period, smoothies would've been out. Way out. A solid pice of food would cause less trouble than a whole mouthful.
Yikes! Thanks for explaining.0 -
I went to an allergist last year. One of the things he said with OAS that if you microwave the fruit or vegetable for 30 seconds it will usually break down the protein. I tried it with apples which are one of my allergies and found it effective. It's not long enough to cook the fruit...so afterwards I threw it in the fridge and ate it without problem.
May or may not work for you...but thought I'd pass it on as it came from an allergist when I had the same problem0 -
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