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

FAQs

What do people with oral allergy syndrome eat? ›

People with OAS can usually eat cooked foods, sauces and pasteurized juices. Avoiding foods you're allergic to at certain times of the year: Most people's seasonal allergies are the worst in the spring, summer or fall. Your reaction to trigger foods might be worse when you're also having seasonal allergies.

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.

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 ORAL ALLERGY SYNDROME? Oral allergy syndrome (OAS), which is also called pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFAS or PFS), is a type of food allergy caused by uncooked fruits, raw vegetables, spices, and nuts.

Birch is probably the biggest cause of cross-reactions, Eitches says. Kiwi, celery, nectarines, apricots, and apples are the most common trigger foods. If you have a ragweed allergy, you may have to avoid: Bananas.

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 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 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.

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS), a type of food allergy, is an allergic reaction that is confined to the lips, mouth and throat. OAS most commonly occurs in people with asthma or hay fever from tree pollen who eat fresh (raw) fruits or vegetables. Other pollen allergies may also trigger OAS.

Someone with OAS may react to one or several foods in the same group. You do not necessarily have to avoid all foods that can cross-react if you can eat them without symptoms. If you have OAS to apples, for example, you can still eat pears if they do not cause problems.

How rare is oral allergy syndrome? ›

How common is oral allergy syndrome? As many as 1 out of every 3 people with seasonal allergies may experience oral allergy syndrome – the exact number is unclear because the condition is often undiagnosed. Oral allergy syndrome does not typically appear in young children.

For some patients, it's possible to treat OAS by targeting the root cause of the allergy. Through a process of receiving allergy shots, a patient can build tolerance to the problem pollen type, and this will stop the cross-reactivity.

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.

If you have OAS to apples, for example, you can still eat pears if they do not cause problems. You may experience worse symptoms during allergy season. If you have a ragweed allergy, you may find that bananas are more problematic during the fall (ragweed season) than spring, as an example.

Freezing does not alter antigenic properties of fresh fruits for skin testing in patients with birch tree pollen–induced oral allergy syndrome. The oral allergy syndrome (OAS) describes an allergic reaction that occurs on ingestion of certain fresh fruits and vegetables in pollen-sensitized subjects.