Posted 10/27/2010 8:29 AM (GMT -7)
I don't know how many of you also experience Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) symptoms, but I've long suspected that I'm dealing with them. Most of mine relate to my ragweed allergy, but there are a few that don't make sense. One of those, that I just tried to sort out this morning, was a problem with apple. about a year ago, I ate a fresh apple (I'd eaten a lot of raw apples before), and my throat swelled; Benadryl didn't much help, so I went to the ER. Since then, I've been afraid to eat any apple products, cooked or raw. RAST tests came back negative, but I was still afraid. Finally, this morning I was ready to try eating cooked apple (applesauce), and I'm happy to say that nothing bad happened.
Given how restricted my diet has become, I'm hopeful that this is something I can reintroduce. Guess the next step is to run the idea past my allergist and see what his thoughts are. (I did this morning's food challenge on my own - not smart, I know, but I made sure to do it where I could get medical help if needed.) I'm still awfully nervous about it - the unpredictable development of new allergies all the time has really heightened my anxiety - but I guess I'll try to work on it if he says it's safe. From today's challenge, it looks like my body thinks it's safe, at least in small amounts and not very often.
I hope this means I don't have to worry about anaphylaxis; it doesn't seem like it would happen on one encounter but not on the next.
Anybody have similar experiences, or able to give any insight on my guesses and hopes?
percycat