Have you ever eaten an apple and immediately felt a tingling or burning sensation around your mouth. If your answer is yes, you might be suffering from apple allergy. Apple allergy is caused when our body’s immune system mistakenly identifies the proteins present in apple as harmful and reacts against it. It releases histamine, which results in the various allergy symptoms.
Few people do not develop allergy when the apples are cooked. This is because the cooking process destroys the allergy-causing proteins present in the apple.
People with allergy to apple can also be allergic to hazelnut, peach, apricot, banana and melon.
Apple Allergy and Birch Pollen Allergy:
The proteins present in apple and the proteins present in birch pollen are structurally similar. Hence a person allergic to birch pollen can develop an allergic reaction to an apple. This is known as oral allergy syndrome. Oral allergy syndrome can result in itching/burning sensation around the mouth, swelling of the lips and tongue. There can also be tightness of the throat. Hence, people with birch pollen allergy should be careful while eating apples.
Apple Allergy Symptoms:
- Itching/burning around the mouth
- Swelling of the lips and tongue
- Tightness of throat
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
Apple Allergy Testing:
Skin prick test and Blood test (RAST) are the two tests which can be conducted to know if you have apple allergy. Do consult your doctor or an allergist if you would like to take up these tests.
Apple Allergy Treatment:
Anti-histamines can be taken to treat the allergy symptoms. Immunotherapy or allergy shots is another is a long-term allergy treatment for apple allergy.
Apple allergy can be prevented by cooking the fruit. If this does not work, avoidance of the fruit is the only option. Do speak to your allergist for knowing further prevention and treatment options.
