Oral allergy syndrome has been most often reported in people who have respiratory allergy (such as hay fever) to specific plant pollens. The pollens most often implicated are produced by :
• Birch and alder trees
• Ragweed
• Mugwort
• Grasses of various types, especially timothy grass, widely grown for hay in the United Sates
Birch and alder tree allergy seems to be the most frequent accompanying allergy in oral allergy syndrome.
Below are lists of foods that most frequently trigger Oral Allergy Syndrome in children sensitized to certain foods.
Inhaled Nonfood Allergens
Birch pollen, Alder pollen, Mugwort pollen, Grass pollens, Timothy grass, Ragweed
Fruits and Vegetables
Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Banana, Carrot, Celery, Cherry, Fennel, Kiwi fruit, Melon, Nectarine, Orange, Peach, Potato, Tomato, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Cucumber, Honeydew, Melon, Watermelon,Zucchini
Legumes and Grains
Peanut
Nuts and Seeds
Hazelnuts, Other tree nuts, Sunflower seeds
Other Foods
Some spices, Echinacea, Chamomile tea
Oral contact with the related fruit, vegetable, or nut causes symptoms when the food is eaten raw, but there is usually no problem when the food is eaten in cooked form. Cooking changes the nature of the protein and the immune system does not recognize the cooked form of the protein. Therefore, for example, someone with OAS can eat stewed apples, but not raw chopped apple in a fresh fruit salad. Many of the fruits tend to increase in allergenicity as they ripen, so people with oral allergy syndrome tend to have more severe symptoms, the riper the fruit they eat.
Peanut
Nuts and Seeds
Hazelnuts, Other tree nuts, Sunflower seeds
Other Foods
Some spices, Echinacea, Chamomile tea
Oral contact with the related fruit, vegetable, or nut causes symptoms when the food is eaten raw, but there is usually no problem when the food is eaten in cooked form. Cooking changes the nature of the protein and the immune system does not recognize the cooked form of the protein. Therefore, for example, someone with OAS can eat stewed apples, but not raw chopped apple in a fresh fruit salad. Many of the fruits tend to increase in allergenicity as they ripen, so people with oral allergy syndrome tend to have more severe symptoms, the riper the fruit they eat.
