strawberries

[redbird]

I fear that I may have developed an allergy to strawberries.

Cattitude came home from the farmers market with two quarts of strawberries, so we sat down to eat strawberries this evening. Adrian washed a plateful of the berries, and we all started eating.

They're very good strawberries, but I realized after eating a few that my lips were starting to itch. They were tasty enough that I had four or five more before saying anything. When I did, Adrian suggested I go wash my face. I rinsed my lips with plenty of cool water, took a benadryl, complained about the situation, and got Adrian to make me herb tea. I hope I haven't developed an allergy to a fruit I like, after eating them without problems for more than fifty years.

ETA, after responding to people's comments:

It may not be just strawberries. Raw kiwi makes my mouth itch, and I think I remember having a problem with the kiwi on a mixed fruit tart. Possibly-underripe figs also made my mouth itch once, but cooked figs (fig Newton cookies) are OK, and a fig that was ripe enough to fall off the tree at my feet was fine. I think I need to do some reading.

Comments

Try this ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Test again with organic strawberries. It may have been a reaction to something on the fruit rather than the fruit itself. Just be cautious. With a contact allergy like itching, you might also be able to spot-test on your wrist instead of your mouth.

Re: Try this ...

[redbird]

These were farmers market strawberries. but I don't think they were labeled as organic.

If/when I try again, the next test will probably be with cooked strawberries, possibly in a cake. Testing on my wrist sounds like a good idea, in part because that would be easier to wash thorouly than my lips and the inside of my mouth.

Re: Try this ...

[adrian_turtle]

The biggest fruit vendor at our local farmers markets uses IPM (which tries to minimize conventional pesticides, but does not forswear them altogether.)

Re: Try this ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Wrist is much easier to wash. I use dish soap when I really need to remove things from skin.

For mouth, toothpaste works best but mouthwash is also helpful -- two different cleaning methods based on ingredients.

[otter]

That would be very sad. I miss eating mangoes very much. I stopped after a similar type of reaction.

[gremdark]

I came here to complain about my adult-onset mango allergy! They were my favorite 😔

[cosmolinguist]

I would be devastated if I developed an allergy to strawberries. Here's hoping it's a coincidence or a one-off thing.

[redbird]

It may be something on the fruit, but it was definitely the berries: we were eating them by themselves, not topped with whipped cream or anything else.

I would miss strawberries, but much less than, say, chocolate. Out of season strawberries are usually a disappointment, so I've been doing without fresh strawberries most of the year anyway. It would mean having to be careful about the ingredients in things like fruit salad and on mixed-fruit tarts.

Raw kiwi makes my mouth itch, and I had that reaction to possibly-underripe figs once. Cooked fig (as in fig Newton cookies) are OK, and a fig that was ripe enough to fall off the tree at my feet was fine.

[rafiwinters]

Oh dear. That would be too bad! Do you have other food/fruit allergies? Good idea to wash face and take meds.

[redbird]

Before this, my only suspected food allergies were to stevia and/or erythritol: I reacted to a packet of sweetener containing those two items. The stevia seemed more likely, because it would was the second time I'd had stevia--the first was at a garden in the Montreal Jardin botanique that let people touch and taste some of the plants.

Those possible allergies mean I now read the fine print on packaging more carefully, in part because things that advertise "no artificial sweeteners" often contain either stevia or sugar alcohols. But I don't miss those, and I would miss strawberries.

[ofearthandstars]

Ooof, strawberries would be hard. I have found that some of my food reactions tend to occur more during the other heavy allergen parts of the year (e.g., if my body already hates spring/fall, eating some things makes my mouth more itchy and raw, but eating those things in the quiet of winter or the withering heat of summer may not produce the same effect). Definitely document and pay attention, though. ♥

[redbird]

I don't have a lot of seasonal allergies, as far as I can recall. I'm taking a daily antihistamine because I am slightly allergic to cats, which would probably be sufficient for mild hay fever as well.

[thistleingrey]

For a while, my kid had reactions that lined up pretty well with oral allergy syndrome. Then they became less reactive, and some of it faded (they still won't touch a few of the foods that were "prickly"); none of what was testable by an allergist showed up on the latter's panel. I notice that kiwi and strawberries are in the same list at the link (birch pollen), if of interest.

[ethelmay]

I had a reaction like that once to cooked nettles. It's the only time I have shown any reaction to a foodstuff.

[meepettemu]

I came here to suggest possible link to oral allergy syndrome as above. I hope you’ll get strawberries back!

[choirwoman]

I have that with fresh pineapple. Fortunately not with strawberries (or kiwi) though I'm very badly affected by birch pollen. I can eat 1 piece of pineapple before the reaction kicks in, so I indulge at hotel breakfasts when there's a spread of all kinds of fresh fruit. (Either that, or wait until my youngest daughter is near enough to eat the rest of the pineapple)

[minoanmiss]

I've cooked for a strawberry lover who is allergic to them raw. shall I email with ideas?

[adrian_turtle]

Yes please!