ALLERGY MOMS

Rynleigh

Ok, more specifically, moms who's little ones have OAS or food allergies... 

I've mentioned before that my 12yr old has OAS and that the only triggers she's had have been carrots and strawberries (she outgrew the strawberries very quickly, and the carrots hardly affect her anymore now).... but Simon had watermelon for the first time this week, and got the same sort of prickly-eczema looking rash that Aurielle gets with her OAS, around his mouth a few hours later. Watermelon is a known OAS trigger for a couple of pollen allergies, so I assumed that was what it was. But his ended up spreading to the back of his neck and shoulder area, too.

My kids and I don't get "normal" hives - no welts to speak of... we get a more prickly allergic dermatitis type of reaction to our allergies - so his rash fits the same sort of rash Aurielle and I get, so I don't think it's an eczema breakout... I'm going to get him into an allergy specialist next week (hopefully), but I wanted to check and see if anyone's child (or themselves) has OAS and has had a reaction that extended beyond oral and digestive reactions, or if anyone has a non-OAS melon allergy... I know this could just be a food allergy not associated with OAS, but since watermelon is another "weird" food to be allergic to, like carrots, and my oldest has it, it was the first thing that made sense... 

The rash on Simon's neck - I know it's difficult to tell, but they are raised.. this is day #2: 

Rynleigh

I'm almost hoping it's just the watermelon as a stand alone Aurielle's pollen for OAS is birch, which there isn't a whole lot of, so I don't have to worry about much seasonal allergy... but we have tons of ragweed in the surrounding cities and up north at grandma's place  :-<

Rynleigh

(secretly hoping for reassurance that no one with OAS gets skin reactions on non-mouth regions lol)

Rynleigh

I hate having to tell doctors about the small handful of allergies we have. We can't just go and have totally normal allergies like milk and eggs... no... we have carrots, aloe vera, and now possibly watermelon. NO ONE IS ALLERGIC TO THESE THINGS. W. T. F.

wifeofadam

Rynleigh said:

I hate having to tell doctors about the small handful of allergies we have. We can't just go and have totally normal allergies like milk and eggs... no... we have carrots, aloe vera, and now possibly watermelon. NO ONE IS ALLERGIC TO THESE THINGS. W. T. F.

I understand.  DS1 had pineapple and tomato on top of his "normal" allergies at one time.  Such random things.  And DH has blue cheese and sweet potatoes.

My older sister just found out she is allergic to all melons, which stinks for her because she's addicted to watermelon.  She started getting mouth rashes and went in for testing.

Rynleigh

Yes, Aurielle's response to carrots started really young, with the rash around the mouth and some digestive issues. When she started talking she would complain about her mouth "stinging" after eating carrot or strawberry, just shortly before the rash appeared. She had a few accidental re-exposures to each of them, periodically, and seems to be completely able to tolerate strawberries without issue now, and rarely gets much more than slight itching and redness the last couple of times she came into contact with the carrots, but I'm still not taking chances. This is the first time Simon's had any kind of melon, as far as I know... I want to say he could have had some cantaloupe at some point in a restaurant but I sincerely can't remember. I am certain that he hasn't had watermelon though - this is the first time it's been in season since I started letting the boys eat fruit. I have this reaction to raw milk (whey allergy) on my arms and torso, so at least that's a somewhat normal allergy... I had a ragweed allergy as a kid but haven't had hay fever in many many years. I have a pretty strong atopic reaction to "raw" aloe - I can handle some cosmetics that contained aloe, if they use cosmetic-grade aloe extracts (i.e. hypoallergenic stabilized aloe vera gel) ... but the raw stuff f's me right up for a solid week.

tamarar5

E doesn't get the skin reaction, but he seems to be allergic to pears. Every time I tell the Dr his pear reaction, I get the WTF look. I get it!

holly321

We suspect dd's strawberry allergy is actually OAS. It was all over her belly and back.  We are getting ready to speak to an allergist about it.

And DS beats everyone's weird allergies..... Rice,oats,barely, green beans, sweet potato, and suspected palm.

holly321

Ok, so I was thinking OAS was just cross reacting allergens, not oral.  Dd did not have an oral reaction to strawberries.  But I think she does to watermelon.  

Puck1182

DH has OAS with apples, but he doesn't get a rash. Just an itchy tongue and throat. Applesauce, apple pie, etc are fine, he just can't have raw apples. And he has crazy bad seasonal allergies, I'm actually surprised apples are his only OAS trigger.

tamarar5

Puck1182 said:

DH has OAS with apples, but he doesn't get a rash. Just an itchy tongue and throat. Applesauce, apple pie, etc are fine, he just can't have raw apples. And he has crazy bad seasonal allergies, I'm actually surprised apples are his only OAS trigger.

My fil is like this with both raw apples and potatoes. He's fine if they are cooked but can't touch them himself.

light52

My oldest was allergic to rice until he was 3.  We always got strange looks when we explained it to people because it used to be the first food they would tell you to feed a baby is rice cereal.  Let's just say that didn't go so well.