Fruit and veg the 'new form of peanut allergy' according to UK specialist
Cases of allergies to fruit and vegetables are increasing rapidly, according to a British specialist.
According to Dr Pamela Ewan, allergy consultant at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, there has been a recent rapid increase in cases of fruit and vegetable allergies over the past few years.
Although Dr Ewan sees in excess of 8000 people suffering from allergies a year, of a range of ages, most of her patients affected by this particular intolerance appear to be youngsters. One typical case is fifteen-year old Alexander Lambert, from Essex. The patient developed an allergy to bananas which he became aware of aged eleven, after which he went on to test positive to other fruits and must now be cautious even as to what is being eaten in his vicinity for fear of triggering a reaction.
The rise in cases of fruit and vegetable allergies is alarmingly outstripping even the number of peanut allergies; what many doctors dubbed “the allergy epidemic of the 1990’s.” "In terms of numbers, fruit and vegetables are the new form of peanut allergy” said Dr Ewan, and urged parents to take the problem seriously as allergy symptoms also become more serious: "Early on when we first picked it up, it was passed off as not being serious. It began with fairly mild itching in the mouth…But now we are seeing people who are getting really severe throat closure, a significant swelling at the back of the throat which can impede breathing."
Other specialist centres also confirmed the rising number of cases of fruit and vegetable allergies as a growing concern. Dr Adam Fox, a consultant paediatric allergist at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, said: "We are certainly seeing lots of oral allergy syndrome.”
Dr Fox indicates that the problem usually affects young adults as they start to develop hay fever, due to the cross-reactivity between the protein in the pollen with those in fruit and vegetables, yet stated, worryingly, that: “we are starting to see more of it among young children.” And whilst allergy to hay fever is at least seasonal, oral allergy syndrome can continue all year round.
This growing problem is further exacerbated by the UK’s startling lack of allergy services. Dr Ewan estimated that with the current facilities, it would take 50 years to see all the people estimated to be currently suffering from severe or complicated allergies.
