Undiagnosed food allergies common in NZ

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Wed, 09 Dec 2009 7:18p.m.

It's that time of year when we relish the summer fruits and new season vegetables. Most of us can't get enough of them, but there are others who are having to restrict them in their diets because of adverse reactions.

One of our leading allergy specialists says he's seeing more and more people who are allergic to fruit and vegetables.

And some people don't even know it's a problem for them.

Nick Moyes is allergic to kiwifruit, not that he ever knew. All his life he thought he was getting a super kick from a super fruit.

"I kind of figured that everyone got it, to be honest," says Mr Moyes. "I thought it was this turbo-charged fruit that gave everyone this amazing reaction in the mouth."

And his son is also allergic to kiwifruit, and many other things.

A specialist explained the types of reactions his son could get, and that's when he understood the problem.

"She went through and she said some people just get a tingly mouth, and I'm sitting there thinking ah, I get a tingly mouth. And then she said some people get it to kiwifruit, and I said that's what I get it to, ao we established at that point that I had a reaction to kiwifruit."

This type of allergy to fruit and vegetables is called oral allergy syndrome, or OAS. It's linked to hayfever, and you can blame it on the birch.

Dr Vincent Crump is the country's leading allergy specialist. He says more and more people are discovering they have allergies to fruit and vegetables.

He says most people get a minor irritation at the back of the throat and itching and swelling of the lips and tongue, but in 10 percent of people it can be more serious, progressing to hives, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Two percent can go into anaphylactic shock and possibly die.

"Fifteen to 20 years ago there were very few patients I saw with fruit allergies. Now I would see one or two each week," he says.

Suzanne Able and apples aren't a good mix, and she's also allergic to stone fruits and celery.

Nearly 70 percent of Dr Crump's patients who suffer from hayfever also have a vegetable or fruit allergy, and that's how Ms Able found out about her other allergies.

"I have a tendency to get hayfever, which was worse when I came to New Zealand, and I got it investigated. And it's just general reniatisis made worse by certain seasons, and the pollen, and I know it is at those times that the fruit allergy is actually worse."

Testing for fruit and vegetable allergies is simple. Clinics do what's called a prick-prick test. The suspect fruit or vegetable is pricked with a needle then the person's skin is pricked.

People with mild allergies can eat what they are allergic to if they cook the fruit or vegetables first - it destroys the pollen protein.

Washing and peeling also lessens the effects.

The closest thing to a cure for allergy sufferers is immunotherapy. Patients receive a monthly injection of what they're allergic to in small doses. The downside is they have to keep up the therapy, which is what Ms Able has to do.

The same goes for Mr Moyes and his family, but they have to be extra cautious because his son is also allergic to dairy, peanuts and eggs.

Next time you bite into an apple or kiwifruit and you get a tingly feeling, now you know why - you're allergic to it.
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Comments

27 Dec 2009 05:53p.m.

K.Brown wrote:

Professor Ian Spellerberg at Lincoln University Environmental Studies Department is the man to contact if you want to become part of a group of concerned citizens wanting Silver Birch trees removed. Pesticides do NOT create Oral Allergy Syndrome.

15 Dec 2009 12:15a.m.

HL wrote:

Interesting clip. I too thought as a kid my tingling mouth thing when I ate fruit was normal until one day, as an adult, was eating a pear and my body started shutting down, trouble breathing and was if I was going paralised down left side of body. Have since try organics, growing my own fruit (new and old trees)and it makes no difference if they are had pesticides or not, ripe or not. And yes my list is getting longer as the years go on, Apples, pears, Kiwifruit, all stonefruit, all berries, potatoes, parsnips (I can still eat pineapple, melons and bananas - need to live on a tropical island rather than NZ!); certainly limits the foods you can have and generally people don't understand what it's like unless they have a food allergy themselves. Oh yeah I grew up around silver birches too.

11 Dec 2009 12:43p.m.

Barry wrote:

Interesting article.
Like Petra I am sure that more people are sensitive to sprays that are now used in intensive farming, some of which can be hormonal disrupters.
Last year about this time the Waikato Times revealed some veges tested 3 times approx the allowable limit.
Another concern is the trend to global food supply and the increasing amount of imported fruit & veges we see in NZ, no doubt irradiated to maintain our biosecurity.
No wonder there is a trend to the grow your own vege garden or organic.

10 Dec 2009 11:40a.m.

K. Brown wrote:

I missed the programme but my husband told me how informative it was! I too am grateful that Silver Birch Allergies and Oral Allery Syndrome have been bought to the attention of the nation. Having lived next door to 3 mature Silver Birch trees for nearly 2 decades ( they have now been removed), I have noticed that every year during pollen season, I have succumbed to numerous chest infections. 8 years ago I started getting reactions from touching and eating our organgic peaches- a quick search of the net came up with Oral Allergy Syndrome. Last year I had allergy skin tests at Medlab- and had an extreme reaction to Silver Birch. This year, despite trying to avoid the trees- I developed Seasonal Extringic Allergic Asthma caused by an extreme reaction to Silver Birch. The list of foods that make me itch, make my tongue and lips swollen, and aggravate my stomach is getting longer. So far I am allergic to Peaches, Apples, Pears, Nectarines, Plums, Cherries, Almonds, Chick Peas, and Peas. Shopping is a nightmare!( no more mixed vegetables or cheaper fruit juice )
When I wear an allergy mask ,I get a lot of stares.
I wish the christchurch City Council would remove all Silver Birches on council property. It would give sufferers like me a better chance to breathe allergy free air.

10 Dec 2009 11:25a.m.

Petra wrote:

Interesting article. Do you think there is any link to the amount of pesticides we use to grow the fruit and vegetables? Is there a prick prick test for pesticides in our fruit? Seems a little bit shortsighted to me. I used to get a tingly feeling on my tongue from Kiwifruit but now I eat organic, I don't get it anymore. Maybe worth a closer look.

09 Dec 2009 07:57p.m.

Christine Miller wrote:

Thank you for bringing this to the public's attention. A few years ago, after having a 20 minute long sneezing fit from eating half an apple, I googled "apple allergy" and within 5 minutes knew all about oral allergy syndrome and that my allergies were linked to the silver birch tree. It is so gutting to be allergic to healthy food! I can't eat stone fruit, apples, pears, almonds and carrots. Reading your article was the first I knew about immunotherapy - is it an affordable treatment?