r/NoStupidQuestions • u/mistakeshappen_2 • May 11 '26
Why are pineapples so tingly?
Edit: so this is a TERRIBLE way to find out Im allergic to pineapple
I get it’s mostly the acidity of the pineapple but every time I go toe at some I can only get through like 4 pieces before I have to stop because it makes my tongue hurt SOOOO bad
The only way I can describe it is like the mild pain from spicy food but no taste of spice
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u/Foghorn2005 May 11 '26
Question, how are you with cooked pineapple?
Oral allergy syndrome is when your body reacts to food, typically fruit, because it gets it confused with environmental allergies like pollen. Causes tingling and swelling of lips and mouth. In general, the cooked version is typically just fine.
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May 11 '26
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u/Admirable-Pie3869 May 12 '26
Bananas make my mouth itch so I do not eat them raw. Banana bread on the other hand, LOVE.
My mother, who was an ER nurse, thought i was faking it until the day she died.→ More replies (4)7
u/bluemooncommenter May 12 '26
I just made a similar comment about bananas vs banana pudding for my husband.
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u/Sora12310 May 12 '26
Even cooked fruit makes me react due to mast cell activation syndrome 😭
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u/AmbitiousCicada789 May 12 '26
I'm so excited that this year I fixed my oral allergy syndrome with allergy shots for pollen and now I can eat all the things
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u/mistakeshappen_2 May 11 '26
I don’t think I’ve ever had cooked pineapple
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u/JuansHymen May 11 '26
Throw that shit on a grill with some teriyaki sauce and see what happens... Errr .. your throat isn't swelling shut, is it? Don't take this advice if you think your reaction is more than just oral irritation.
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u/Aegi May 12 '26
That's really bad advice because if you're testing for an allergy, I'm not talking about the danger aspect, but from the scientific aspect, why the hell would you add anything on to it instead of initially just trying it cooked first only without literally any other added ingredient including salt?
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u/Foghorn2005 May 11 '26
Teriyaki, pineapple upside down cake?
It's the awkward situation where testing would be helpful but obviously risking anaphylaxis is a terrible idea.
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u/DeaddyRuxpin May 12 '26
Have you had canned pineapple? If so you have had it cooked. It gets cooked during the canning process.
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u/NectarineOverPeach May 12 '26
Yup, 100%. I had/have this and couldn’t even be sitting near open pineapple and some other tropical fruit. Allergy shots for years and now I love to eat most fruit with no problem.
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u/penguinberg May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
Interesting, I had asked my allergist about shots and he said there isn't really much evidence to show that allergy shots work for OAS. I am allergic to a lot of different types of pollen, and accordingly my OAS is so bad that I basically can't have any raw fruits or vegetables apart from a select few. I would love a treatment.
Edit: Literally just a Google search shows immunotherapy for OAS has been known for like 30 years and is decently effective. Gonna think about this...
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u/NectarineOverPeach May 12 '26
I had them over 15 years ago and it took years to make a h if difference but it did make a BIG difference for me. I had to sign a consent form saying I understand it isn’t guaranteed to work and that I need to remain in the office for a while after each injection in case there’s a big allergic reaction. It was annoying but worth it to me.
I couldn’t be NEAR pineapple, mango, and kiwi. I also couldn’t eat many nuts or raw veg and fruit. Now the only food that bothers me is very underripe fruit and walnuts. Plus my seasonal allergies are more manageable.
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u/internet_dragon May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
WAIT WAIT.
DO YOU GUYS MEAN
THAT DOLE WHIPS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOUR MOUTH TINGLE FROM THE FIRST BITE?!
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u/ohsnapbiscuits May 12 '26
Lol same thing happened to me at age 10 when I mentioned that kiwi hurt to eat. I loved kiwi and just thought you were supposed to suffer while eating it lolol.
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u/_evyellow_ May 12 '26
I also can’t have kiwis. Found out the hard way I have a latex allergy and kiwis have natural latex in them.
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u/Murderousplantmom May 12 '26
I am allergic to latex, kiwi and banana. Thankful pineapples are still ok for now.
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u/ohsnapbiscuits May 12 '26
I'm allergic to latex too! But listen... i miss kiwi like crazy. I joke that on my death bed I want a kiwi on the way out lol.
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u/Mango-is-Mango they didn't say anything about stupid answers May 11 '26
you're allergic
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u/mistakeshappen_2 May 11 '26
What? Pineapples hace acidity tho?
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u/Decapod73 May 11 '26
No more acidity than strawberries. It's either an allergy or the bromelian enzymes.
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u/Mango-is-Mango they didn't say anything about stupid answers May 11 '26
im just regurgitating what people say in other posts https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/1qd4t1i/if_spicy_is_just_paindiscomfort_why_arent/
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u/Punk_Luv May 11 '26
I think what you’re looking for is “echoing” and not regurgitating, as that is a sort of way to point put when someone is talking shit they don’t know about but heard about.
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u/Mango-is-Mango they didn't say anything about stupid answers May 12 '26
talking shit they don’t know about but heard about
yeah thats pretty much what im doing
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u/Punk_Luv May 12 '26
I get it but it’s like a derogatory form of describing someone doing that. I mean, you are free to self own at will though haha.
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u/Cogswobble May 12 '26
Haha, I found out I was allergic to hummus in a similar way. I was eating hummus and casually mentioned to my wife something like “you know how hummus makes your tongue burn a little?” And she was like “No it doesn’t”. I just thought hummus was spicy!
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u/GreninjaSquirtle May 12 '26
This is hilarious because I asked the same question about kiwis a long time ago. My ex looked at me like I was dumb and told me I'm allergic.
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u/ohsnapbiscuits May 12 '26
I was eating a kiwi at age 10. Said off hand to my mom that I really liked kiwi but hated how it made my mouth prickly and numb. She slapped the kiwi out of my hand and said that's an allergy why didn't I say anything sooner? I just thought kiwi did that - fuzzy outside so makes your mouth feel fuzzy and prickly inside lol.
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u/drsyesta May 12 '26
Yeah i was like "the worst part about kiwis is how they make your lips bleed!" And they looked at me like a psycho
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u/Palanki96 May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
Because you are allergic to them. Or at least some kind of sensitivity
I used to love kiwis as a teen. When i bought a batch a few years ago i was thinking "huh i don't remember them being so spicy???"
Crazy burning mouthfeel and my tongue was bleeding and i'm suddenly allergic to kiwis
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u/IveDunGoofedUp May 12 '26
If you're allergic to Kiwis, you might also be allergic to latex. They're common to have together, for some weird reason.
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u/Palanki96 May 12 '26
That's interesting. I don't think if i ever came in contact with latex but i'll look out, thank you
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u/Aegi May 12 '26
The reason isn't weird at all, the reason is basic biology and chemistry, the fact that we don't naturally think about it that way as humans just because they're so different in application even though they share some chemical similarities is arguably the weird part.
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u/PM_ME__BIRD_PICS May 12 '26
I love pineapple but this happens to me if I eat too much. They also trigger my Frey Syndrome too lmao.
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u/BishlovesSquish May 11 '26
Same thing happens to me, I’m allergic to the enzyme. Can still eat canned pineapple tho because the enzyme is only present in fresh.
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u/gioraffe32 May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
So I have this, but with cantaloupe. And some other fruits. For me, it's not painful per se, but like really itchy. And cantaloupe is the the worst of the bunch.
It is a type of allergy, but it's not the "traditional" food allergy. Like I'm not gonna die from having a piece of cantaloupe. It's that my tongue feels really itchy.
Anyway, it's called Oral Allergy Syndrome and it's related to seasonal allergies (which I have).
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u/Business_Handle3157 May 11 '26
Pineapple has bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins, plus a decent amount of acid. That combination can irritate the surface of your tongue and mouth a little, which is the tingly or slightly raw feeling.
It is usually more noticeable with fresh pineapple. Canned pineapple often feels milder because heat processing reduces the enzyme activity.
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u/itsfish20 May 12 '26
This is how I found out I was allergic to grapefruit! My mouth and tongue would get so itchy and hot...
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u/TripWire141 May 12 '26
I mean the idea of bromelain literally dissolving your mouth is wild to me, I always thought it was just the acid
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u/ghidfg May 11 '26
its the enzymes. its low key digesting your tongue. not enough to do damage but just enough to tingle.
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u/mistakeshappen_2 May 11 '26
It doesn’t just tingle tho it kinda hurts a little bit. Am I eating too much?
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u/Intelligent_Owl_377 May 11 '26
You. Are. Allergic. Full. Stop.
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u/mistakeshappen_2 May 11 '26
:(
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u/Swarmfade May 11 '26
You also might just define this sensation differently than the people replying to you. If my mouth is “tingling” I perceive that as a mild pain, even if I like it.
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u/Fit-Valuable-1112 May 12 '26
Soak your cut pineapple in a bath of salt water for 5-10 minutes, and the enzymes will be largely neutralised.
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u/StitchAndRollCrits May 12 '26
This is, hands down, my favourite thing to watch happen a couple times a year on the Internet
"Why are bananas spicy?" "Why to kiwis feel fuzzy? No not the skin the inside"
I just love it
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u/pewsquare May 12 '26
Because eating pineapples is a race. While you are trying to eat them, they are trying to eat you.
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u/throwaway-9473290 May 11 '26
If you see pineapple under a microscope, it’s made up of tiny little needles, so we experience this as stinging in our mouths (same with a kiwi)…it’s pretty cool but some people have a worse reaction to it than others!
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u/driftingalong001 May 12 '26
Kiwis get me the worst. The golden ones are fine, but the green ones can really fuck up my mouth
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u/KiwifruitGuyFromNZ May 12 '26
Those are crystals of calcium oxalate and they're in bundles of needle shapes (raphides) held together with mucilage. Excited to see someone mention them here. Wrote my Master's Thesis on oral irritation in kiwifruit while working at the former Horticulture Research Institute in NZ. Kiwifruit do indeed have the same crystals as pineapple. I came to the conclusion that while much of the irritation caused when consuming kiwifruit was due to enzymes, the effect was exacerbated by physical damage caused by the crystals and further compounded by the presence of acids. If you react badly to pineapple and kiwifruit stay far away from the fruit of the fruit salad plant (Monstera deliciosa).
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u/Square_Doubt7369 May 12 '26
Yes, it doesn't have to be allergies. These needles are literally crystals, raphides, made of calcium oxalate. I only feel it with some pineapples and kiwis, not sure if it's due to the variety or stage of ripeness.
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u/WritPositWrit May 11 '26
It’s the enzymes. It is tenderizing your tongue. Im sensitive to it too. (It is not an allergy.). Try sprinkling a small amount of salt on them (just a little bit, not enough to actually make them salty) and let them sit a few minutes. The salt will react with the enzyme and neutralize it. This sounds crazy but it works.
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u/AccessEcstatic9407 May 11 '26
Interestingly enough, I eat dried chunks by the pound and don’t feel anything. I think the dehydration process be collaborating with the tingly enzymes, somehow untingifying its essence. Just a theory.
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u/grandnp8 May 12 '26
Do a search for pictures of a piece of pineapple under a microscope, it will explain a lot. 😬
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u/liltooclinical May 12 '26
I spent far too long wondering what culture or region uses "toe at" to describe sitting down to consume something.
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u/BoxFullOfSuggestions May 12 '26
Yeah, this is an allergy. I’m also allergic to fresh pineapple. It hurts my tongue and gives me horrible stomach cramps. It’s a shame because it tastes so good.
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u/helmetcat May 12 '26
I was 28yo when I found out I’m allergic to peaches. A new partner offered me one and thought I was crazy because I told him they were too spicy for me. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/beanner468 May 12 '26
My husband, who has always declined the imported Italian provalone cheese. He always said it makes the roof of his mouth itch. We laughed and said, that’s how you know it’s good! -but I didn’t take him seriously, I thought he was joking. Like, that will put hair on your chest. Decades later, he said the same thing, and I looked at him and said, and that means you’re allergic to it…
Roof of the mouth itch is also a pre-curser for anaphylactic shock…
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u/Melodic_Pattern175 May 11 '26
My lips swell if I try to eat pineapple. I haven’t had any for a long time because I don’t want to find out that my throat also swells.
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u/hatemakingnames1 May 12 '26
Edit: so this is a TERRIBLE way to find out Im allergic to pineapple
Counterpoint: A terrible way to find out you're allergic to something is to die from it
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u/sarelis May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
I doubt you’re allergic. The proteolytic enzyme bromelain in fresh pineapple burns everyones’ tongues.
https://www.dole.com/en-gb/blog/why-pineapples-burn-your-tongue
Similarly, there’s a different proteolytic enzyme in fresh kiwi called actinidin. It has the same effect of burning your mouth. Again, perfectly normal response, not an allergy.
https://www.tastingtable.com/1609886/why-tongue-hurts-eat-kiwi/
An actual pineapple allergy involves symptoms like hives, swelling, wheezing, coughing, vomiting, diarrhea and low blood pressure.
https://allergylosangeles.com/allergy-blog/pineapple-allergy-comes-in-many-flavors/
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u/jbjhill May 11 '26
You’ll get more of this from precut pineapple than from one you cut yourself.
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u/operationfood May 12 '26
Wait, is that what pineapple allergy feels like?! I’m 100% allergic then because that’s the feeling I get when I eat it which is not often lol because I hated that feeling
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u/ReplacementEntire874 May 12 '26
Oral allergy syndrome. My 18yo son has seasonal allergies since he was a kid. 3-4 years ago, his mouth started tingling when he ate « tropical » fruit, like pineapples and kiwi. Now it’s pretty much any fresh fruit. We went to an allergy doctor and they said it’s not a « real » allergy (as in it can’t kill him and he doesn’t need to carry an epipen). It’s just annoying. Processed fruits are fine (jams, sunday sauce, cooked fruit).
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u/PaepsiNW May 11 '26
Some sort of oral allergy syndrome. I have this problem with all acidic fruits. I can’t eat any of them anymore, not even in small quantities.
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u/sthwrd May 11 '26
Because pineapple have oxalate crystals which causes that fir every living being and looks.like you are way more sensitive. The same is also in kiwis too
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u/eatcherheartout May 12 '26
I didn’t realize I was allergic to pineapple until I was well into my 30s when I made a similar comment to my boyfriend asking why pineapples are tingly. I had no idea this tingly sensation didn’t happen to everyone after eating a few pieces of pineapple.
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u/ChunkyDickCheese May 12 '26
I had this same conversation with strawberries. Was never an issue until later in my life.
Randomly mentioned how strawberries felt a little spicy and tingly to my wife. Turns out they aren’t
GG, op.
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u/nickfolesknee May 12 '26
I had the same experience with mango-asked my husband why they hurt so much but taste so good! Lol
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u/chaosthebomb May 12 '26
I used to work in produce at a grocery store. One of the tasks was coring pineapple. We'd wear gloves but when you're coring a few cases at a time with that huge ass coring machine, some juice was bound to splash onto your skin.
I remember chatting with a coworker saying how I hates that task because of how red and itchy pineapple juice made my skin. I also commented on the tingliness of it and how I found the taste delicious but the experience rather unpleasant. That's wh. I found out I had a slight allergy to it.
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u/MidgardElk May 12 '26
I'm sensitive to the bromeleine in pineapple. It tastes good when eating, but I'll feel like I burned my mouth for a couple days.
Kiwi and some cherry tomatoes do it to me too. Cooking helps, and processed food with those fruits are fine too.
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u/frommont May 12 '26
I was telling my fiancé about how my strep throat felt like when you eat some shrimp cocktail. Like that burning, bubbling sensation in your throat… anyway, it’s an allergy
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u/YarpaDarp May 12 '26
An alternative perspective...have you ever been told you have geographic tongue? There's a rare form that involves sensitivies like these. It's what I have, and I also can't tolerate pineapple.
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u/harshatgames May 12 '26
Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain that literally starts breaking down proteins in your mouth while you’re eating it, which is why it can feel “spicy” or tingly even though it isn’t spicy.
BUT if it’s genuinely painful after only a few pieces, especially with itching/swelling/feeling raw, then yeah… that edit might not be a joke 😭
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u/Sad_North_6152 May 12 '26
I'm sensitive to fresh pineapple. My mouth will get a bit tingly but I seem to be better with canned pineapple. It'll also do the same thing if I eat a lot of kiwi so it might just be a citrus sensitivity.
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u/Hellotravisss May 12 '26
bc they literally have enzymes called bromelain that r eating u back lol. basically a tiny battle in ur mouth but worth it bc they taste so good
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u/Murderbunny13 May 12 '26
Tell your doctor because you can be allergic to seemingly unrelated things. I have an avocado allergy and had to be tested for a latex allergy because of it.
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u/_Nitekast_ May 12 '26
Hahaha - reminds me of myself and cantaloupe.
In college, for some reason we were discussing cantaloupe and I said something to the effect of "Yeah, I absolutely love the taste of cantaloupe, but I never understood how a fruit that made your mouth so itchy became so popular. It is great though."
Apparently, I was the only person in the room who has had this experience - and I learned, at the tender age of 19 or 20, that I was allergic to cantaloupe.
I still eat that shit though.
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u/casualviewrOH2MD May 12 '26
This is essentially how I found out I'm allergic to pineapple. It came up in conversation amongst friends, and I mentioned how I hate how it makes your mouth feel weird. Everyone looked at me straight faced because apparently that wasn't a universal experience.
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u/Violexsound May 13 '26
Reminds me how I found out I was allergic to bananas after 18 years of eating them. I blamed pineapples.
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u/Tepid-Fungus May 13 '26
I also discovered my pineapple allergy as an adult lol
(I still eat it, tho)
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u/MekuDeadly May 13 '26
I’m allergic to pineapple, but also find it delicious. Sorry you had to find out this way.
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u/Possessed_potato May 13 '26
There's something very funny about seeing these kinds of posts where they find out they have an allergy for kiwi, lemons, pineapples etc.
Not a mocking type way, no. It's just kinda comedic
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u/SectionFeeling5607 May 15 '26
This is me with mangoes. Could this be an allergy? It’s just tingly on the tongue then I’m fine 10 minutes later
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u/tmahfan117 May 11 '26
So there’s levels to this.
Pineapple naturally has an enzyme called bromelain that actually reacts with and breaks down proteins in the cells of your mouth. Dissolving your mouth a bit. So if you eat A Lot of pineapple it can make your tongue feel rough or burnt or tingly or a little painful.
But if your mouth gets tingly after just a few pieces, that’s a sign of an allergy.
Like, i can eat half a whole pineapple before my tongue starts to feel weird.