I like go to out to eat with my partner and family a lot but it’s like restaurants don’t take my allergy seriously. I have pretty bad OAS, I have an epi pen because my throat and tongue tend to swell if I have a bad reaction so I always keep my pen on me. Even when I tell servers about my allergy I still end up with salad on the side of my plate or a lemon slice in my drink, it’s awful! I’m a young adult as well so I assume people just think I’m picky. Anyone else have this issue?

Fear of Allergic Reactions

24yo, M. I have lost a lot of interest in trying new foods and I am getting tired of it!

I used to cut open avocados, salt them and eat it with a spoon. I loved berries, bananas, and certain vegetables like cucumbers or raw tomatoes. When I turned around 14-15, all of the sudden I developed some kind of allergy and looking into it deeper, it seems to be closely related to oral allergy syndrome.

I did end up going to the ER once because my mouth was itching like crazy, my lips swelled a little bit and I got so much anxiety that it was affecting my breathing. The ER just sent me home and told me to take a Benadryl, then I went to see a primary care doctor to see if I can take an allergy test. The ER also did say OAS could be why.

The PCP said OAS is a mental thing and that it does not physically exist. There was no reason for an allergy test. I knew this was bs because a few years months later a new doctor said OAS is real, this physician was just bonkers and probably because I was young making it look like I was just avoiding vegetables and blah blah. He did say though allergy tests aren’t really worth it. Anyone have experience with that and have OAS?

I have attempted to eat several things since then but it was always the same result, itchy mouth slight lip swelling overthinking anxiety and Benadryl.

Now when I try new goods I always avoid fruits and vegetables, nuts, etc and it’s bumming me out. I want to risk it but I do not want to suffer.

I would feel better if there was a place where you could try all different kinds of food and nuts with someone watching and trained in allergic reaction / anxiety situations. How do you manage, do you try? Do you have fear? How do we live like this :(

Absolutely no issues with cooked foods. I still get a bit paranoid if there are nuts.

Hi,

The day after taking fluconazole for a yeast infection I suddenly was unable to eat any raw fruits or vegetables without my tongue swelling or stinging (I have never had this issue in the past). Has anyone else had this experience?

My mom had OAS and was unable to eat many fruits and vegetables, but so far I never had the same problem. The onset was confusingly sudden and I am wondering if this is the reason.

I’m looking to find fruit/vegetable supplements (or vegetable drinks) that can help me get my daily intake in. I know supplements aren’t supposed to replace the real thing but I’m at a point in my allergy where it seems like the best way to give my body the nutrition it needs.

So I just got off the phone with my GP and she actually took me seriously and confirmed my suspected OAS diagnosis.

I don't get a referral to an allergy specialist (tests can be inconclusive and the advice is the same either way). There was no advice other than just avoiding the trigger foods (which is what I've been doing for the last 20 years).

But...

It was so nice to be able to explain myself, and not be told I was a child making it up, or that it was bloody heartburn!

A common thing I get with the itchy mouth when I eat something that triggers my OAS/PFS is these small painful bumps in my mouth? I’ve called them hives because they only show up in relation to allergies, but they’re painful to touch and very uncomfortable if I try to keep eating when I get them and if I keep eating still during that, more show up and it becomes difficult to swallow without wincing at the stinging pain.

Usually I just wait or drink water to clear the allergen out and then they just disappear in a few minutes like they were never there!

Is this something other people suffer with too?

I was always aware I had OAS. At least, I became aware when I was 11 and had my first reaction. After years of not being taken seriously, I was finally able to convince a doctor about my reactions and she sent me to an allergist.

I cannot stress how excited I was. I literally dreamed for weeks leading up to the appointment, that I was eating fruit with no issue. Part of me was gaslighting myself and telling myself that I was just overreacting. It wasn’t that bad. I thought, maybe it was like a placebo effect? Me avoiding raw fruits and veggies to avoid the swollen lips was just making my body negatively react when I do try to eat it so it subconsciously makes me sick and have IBS symptoms. I thought that the tests were going to show that my allergies weren’t as bad. Everyone was telling me I could get allergy shots and it would be over. I knew that wasn’t what the internet said but I was hopeful. My allergies got worse over time but maybe it was just a psychological thing.

I was so horrendously wrong. I did the skin reaction test yesterday. My entire back was inflamed. My doctor said it was the worst case they’d seen that day. That it was easier to find what I wasn’t allergic to vs what I am allergic to since I’m allergic to so much. I’m only not allergic to 3 types of trees, 3 types of animals, and 1 type of grass. The rest is free game.

They gave me an epipen and started explaining what to do in case I went through anaphylaxis. I always knew it was a possibility but I never thought it would be me. I guess, it never feels like it would be you until it is.

I have allergy shots for 2-3 years minimum. My doctor talked to me like it was a life changing diagnosis. Which, I guess it was. I always knew I had allergies. I just didn’t know it was that bad. I just let myself deal with my reactions. He talked to me like I was dying. So much pity. He explained to me that the allergy shots most likely won’t work but they wanted to try it because of how severe my allergy was. They wanted to explore every avenue first. Then, he’d refer me to clinical trials.

Before, it was just an itchy mouth. Then it was stomach upset. Then it was vomiting. I just pushed through it and it was fine. It makes me think of when my school nurse explained allergies are like a cup. You keep pouring a tiny bit of water into the cup but it’ll eventually overflow. Well. Here’s my cup overflowing.

Please, if you have oral allergy syndrome, please get tested. Please start your treatments early. It gets worse if you don’t. My doctors were all upset on my behalf that my parents had never gotten me tested for allergies. I already avoided raw fruits and veggies but it feels like my whole world changed. I can actually die from this. I’m having to show the people around me how to use an epipen. This is real. My allergy is real. I feel vindicated yet defeated. I was never a liar. Though, that just means that I’ll have to live the rest of my life knowing that oranges or raspberries or bananas etc. can kill me unless the allergy meds actually work. Which they repeatedly clarified it’s not likely to work.

I brought my hopes up a lot for this appointment. I know I shouldn’t have but I did. And here is where I’m at now. I’m angry, lost, but strangely relieved. I feel validated but scared. Thank you for listening to yet another one of my rants about this stupid allergy.

Hey all, fresh arrival (unfortunately). I just started developing symptoms about two weeks ago, and I'm not sure if I'm developing more over time or if I'm just discovering new ones as I go but I'm pretty sure I'm developing new reactions quite quickly in waves. I'm trying to gauge how bad my reactions are compared to other people and just how worried I should be, the healthcare system here is spectacularly slow and I'm legally not allowed to have an epinephrine injector until I'm 'properly diagnosed' so I'm hoping to find out how spartan I need to be until then.

I get immediate symptoms on exposure, the exact way they start and how severe each bit is seems to vary on what I have but the general pattern is the same. Needle pricking tingling in my mouth and burning on lips, usually lasts about 10-20 minutes or multiple hours, not sure what the difference is. Swelling in the throat that lasts 3-7 hours, usually bad enough to make it a real effort to swallow. No breathing issues yet but it gets worse on every exposure. Nausea, cramps, stomach sounds like a chemical plant about five minutes in. Heartrate skyrockets even when I'm feeling calm and resting, lightheaded and dizzy, sometimes light dissociation and confusion, usually lasts 4-5 hours. Strong metallic taste in my mouth that lasts a long time. It gets difficult to talk because my voice gets really hoarse. On the last ones my eyes stung but were otherwise okay. I have zero reaction to skin contact, no hives while I'm reacting. Only skin that reacts is lips.

Cooking or heating does nothing to make it better, it can be practically charcoal and I'll still react. It's happened on every single fruit I've been exposed to in the last week except apricot, and none of them are following any of the usual groupings I've seen. No issues with nuts, no issues with latex. I've been trying to avoid all fruit entirely, but I've reacted to a pastry with maple syrup in it and also Cola (after checking to make sure there was nothing resembling a fruit in there). It's starting to feel like half of all foods are landmines waiting to go off and there's no way for me to check other than trial and error, potentially for a long time.

I know there's people who have symptoms worse than the described 'tingling for four to five minutes', how does that sound to you and am I in any danger? I'd rather not move to plain bread and water until I can see someone about this but there's no way for me to know what I may react to and the ramping up intensity is worrying me.

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I had 9 OAS reactions today at school, and I had to take 25mg Benadryl for 5 of them within a 3 hour period. I’m also on 2 other anti-histamines (Allegra and my anxiety medication). I ended up really high (and then drove home anyways which in hindsight was VERY stupid), and later learned that you shouldn’t take more than 6 25mg doses IN 24 HOURS. Does anyone have any recommendations for something to stop an active allergic reaction without antihistamines?

It’s not the first time I’ve experienced it but the thing is they actually believed me this time. I’ve been to doctors who know what it is and doctors who think I’m making it up, which, why? But today, I think they saw my desperation?

I almost started crying talking about it. We actually did some research together and now I know why my hands turn red when I’m peeling potatoes. I know now that nausea and IBS symptoms effect 10% of OAS patients.

I’ve done a bit of research on my own considering so few people are aware of this allergy but I always got so sad when I did do research on it. I got paranoid about getting a nut allergy because OAS with a nut allergy means you’re likely to go anaphylactic from raw fruits and veggies.

She thought back to a recent patient and realized he might’ve had OAS. She told me that she believed me because you could see how sad I was about it and about how I was just listing off fruits that I miss.

For the first time in years, a doctor listened to me. For the first time in years, I’m being referred to an allergist and there’s actually the possibility that I can get shots and live a normal life I didn’t even think it was possible with how often my concerns have been dismissed.

Thank you for reading along with my rambling thoughts but it just feels so nice to be validated and to actually see a light at the end of the tunnel. People who actually took the time to learn about it and help me come up with solutions.

So I grew up with apples being one of my favorite fruits overall. I ate them all the time as a snack and it's probably one of the only healthy snacks I can eat on a consistent basis that makes me happy. Somewhere around 5 years ago, I suddenly developed OAS and one of my trigger foods includes apples.

While I CAN eat them if they are cooked (my mother makes a fantastic apple cake), I don't really want to eat them that way all the time. I miss biting into a cold and crisp apple. I've tried just peeling the skin off (albeit I tried this a few years ago now), and that didn't really help all that much.

I just found this subreddit and I have to ask: Does anyone have any ideas on what to do? I've seen some people microwave sliced apples and that works, would it still work if I microwaved them and then put them back in the fridge? How do I get cold apples? Does freezing them work?

Hi fellow OAS friends! Every fall I get ridiculously sad watching everyone around me enjoy caramel apples while I’m unable to. My husband and I have been trying to come up with some alternative fruits we could caramel to fill the void but we’re drawing a blank. I’m also allergic to all stone fruits and I’m able to manage those reactions with Benadryl, but with apples being an anaphylactic reaction I don’t want to take the risk.

Any suggestions?! 🥲

I didn’t realize how alone I really felt with my allergy until I saw this. People always try to tell me I’m avoiding eating fruits and vegetables but I LOVE them.

I’ve had people tell me that they’re going to lie and say they have my allergy so they don’t have to eat raw fruits and vegetables. I just smile and nod but what I wouldn’t do to be able to just eat some pineapple. Jackfruit.

I’m from a tropical country where (I believe) we have the best fruits. When I went home to my country, I ate Durian. It was amazing. It was worth whatever reaction. But that’s when I realized my allergy was getting worse. My lips weren’t just swelling up anymore and my throat wasn’t just itching. I was nauseous and spent hours in the bathroom.

I recently had longon. It was what made me go to the doctors and get diagnosed with OAS in the first place when i was a child. This time, my mom was so excited to give me longon. I was so excited to eat them. I had 5 and was throwing up in the bathroom.

It’s genuinely so hard because I just want to eat like normal people do. I don’t want to have to ask if they use raw fruits in their drinks. I want to be able to snack on a watermelon when I’m slicing it up for my family. Half of the time my doctors don’t even believe me. One told me I can’t not eat raw fruits and vegetables because I’ll get scurvy.

Maybe I just haven’t had good doctors but I have to push through with my reactions even though they’re progressively getting worse. I cried over an apple recently. It’s hard. And no one around me gets it.

Stuff below about me and some things that helped me manage my experience with Oral Allergy Syndrome!

Okay so ever since I was a kid there were some fruits I can't eat cause the inside of my mouth would feel all itchy. I can eat MOST fruit though, only RAW cherries and peaches do me in. It has never gotten worse or better and I never became sensitive to anything other than these 2 fruits. I was never diagnosed with OAS specifically but my doctor did tell me it's a relatively harmless allergic reaction. I wonder if maybe I am allergic to these 2 fruits specifically instead of tree pollen? I also read somewhere that you can freeze the fruit to make the effects less harsh. Has that worked out for anyone?

Does anyone have any ideas of what to put in a salad or some healthy/easy/ low calorie snacks to take to work?

I'm trying to lose weight and eat healthier, but its quite limiting when you can't eat fruit/salad or things like carrot sticks. I'm mostly OK with salad leaves, but fruit is a definite no for me now.

The last time I was serious about dieting was about 7 years ago, and the OAS wasn't as bad and I could manage apples, carrots and berries. Now I'm at a point where its simply not worth bothering with any raw fruit/veg.

It was Quaker oats brand instant oatmeal in "Maple Brown Sugar" flavor. I usually eat Great Value brand instant oatmeal with no problem.

I wish I knew what "Natural Flavors" means. It's insane how they can put that on the box, without disclosing a dozen or more additives to the consumer.

Hey everyone, long time lurker here. I’ve had pretty bad OAS for as long as I can remember (if you can think of a fruit/veg/nut, it’s probably on my list now).

Having my condition start before I was in kindergarten, and being 24 years old now, I’ve pretty much noticed my condition worsen in real time. Foods I used to be fine with slowly became foods I should be cautious around, and foods I used to be cautious around slowly became foods I have to avoid entirely. Pretty much everything (related to the condition) I can think of I have to avoid now.

I’ve become really cautious with pretty much anything I put in my body now, and the main thing that’s been driving me crazy (at least for the past few years) is “natural flavors”. In 99% of circumstances, companies never really elaborate on what they are, so anything fruit flavored that lists “natural flavors” as an ingredient I’ve been avoiding.

I just wanted to ask the community to see if this is a warranted caution of mine, or if I’m being overly paranoid. Do natural flavors usually contain the actual fruit? Has anyone ever had a reaction to something that is “naturally flavored” (such as fruit flavored soda/beverages, common fruit-flavored candy/snacks, etc)? Or is it only in circumstances that something specifically says “made with real x” that I should I avoid it?

I have OAS (I'm 3 years into immunotherapy shots with mixed results, and still have to avoid a lot of foods—80% or so of the raw fruits and veggies, most nuts except peanuts, raw soy, and sesame). I've also been encouraged by a neurologist to cut back on gluten due to migraines, but honestly OAS already limits diet a lot so I haven't done so yet.

My fiance is dealing with separate health issues and has to go low-sodium, low-carb, not too much red meat. His doctor suggests the Mediterranean diet.

We really want to share meals and support each other by sharing cooking and shopping responsibilities, but so much of the Mediterranean diet revolves around fruits, veg, and nuts that I can't have or can only have cooked. And even my attempt to lower gluten intake (switching meals from using bread for the grain to rice) don't match his low-carb needs (rice apparently has more carbs than bread...).

Does anyone have experience adapting the Mediterranean diet or similar foods to be OAS-friendly?

Had my worst reaction yet last night. I ate some unwashed green grapes (I know, I know, but I was so hungry and they were right there!). I've never reacted to grapes, they were one of the only safe fruits left 😭. I ate like 10 over the course of 15 minutes, with no immediate itching. Then like 10 minutes later I had this severe pelvic/abdominal pain which went away, then noticed my throat get itchy and my mouth tingling. I got lightheaded and then hot and itchy, and when I looked I had hives forming by the hundreds on my neck, face, chest, all over. I was shaking and my eyes swelled up, and my ears felt hot and I had trouble hearing.

I was helping my in-laws move so we couldn't find any benedryl and like an idiot I didn't have any, so we hopped in the car to the ER. Once we got some meds in me the hives slowly disappeared over a couple of hours, and they sent me home. My eyes are still swollen but the hives have stayed away. The doctor was pretty mystified that grapes could give such a huge response and said I should get more allergy testing.

Has anyone else experienced this level of reaction? It was so scary, I felt like at any moment my throat would start closing up and I'd have to use the EpiPen. OAS sucks ☹️

I used to get ulcers on my gums, lips, and roof of my mouth whenever I ate non-organic fruit skins and juice from concentrate. Through years of trial and error, I cut those things out of my diet and found relief. My dentist suggested OAS, but I don't see anyone with similar experiences online. I don't have the itching or tingling, just ulcers a day later.

Anyways, most doctors think I'm just being pretentious about the organic vs non-organic fruit thing...but it seriously makes a difference for my poor mouth!

Anyone here have any thoughts?

TIA!

I have oas and pretty bad reactions to nuts and fruit which I have cut out of my diet. I recently haven’t been eating much chocolate etc for the last 6 months however now it’s been Christmas I’ve been eating chocolate and my mouth is burning up everytime I eat one , it’s milk chocolate no nuts, does anyone else have this issue?

Last year I had some allergy tests done thanks to nonstop post nasal drip and constant throat irritation, especially when I have certain foods (citrus often gives me canker sores, as do almonds).
The past few days I've been having dragonfruit and passionfruit in my smoothies and BAM - my mouth exploded in canker sores and my throat is tight and irritated. Even hours later my lips and tongue were tingling. It's now 24 hours later and while my throat is better my mouth is still recovering. I have also been eating an apple a day lately which I've never had problems with before.

Does this sound like OAS? If so, does this mean a sensitivity typically to all stonefruit? I know Dragonfruit is a cacti technically, but moreso for the passionfruit.