My ds loves fruit and has eaten them all his life. Recently though after eating cherries, I noticed he had an allergic reaction around his mouth and on his lips. First they were little red spots with a tiny raised center and even some bubbles forming on his lips. He also complained that inside of his mouth hurt. I washed his face immediately and gave him some Benadryl and it disappeared. So, no more cherries. Then last night he ate half an apple (unpeeled) and again little red spots around his mouth again. No bubbles but did complain that his tongue hurt. Hmmm... again an allergic reaction BUT both times there were no hives on his body. Just localized reaction to where the fruit and its juices touched. I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through something similar. Thanks.

By Kate on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 - 03:59 pm:

Any chance you washed the fruit in something that he reacted to?

By Luvn29 on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 - 04:54 pm:

This is a very common food allergy reaction. Most people don't realize there are contact reactions to foods, not just hives all over the body or difficulty breathing, etc.

Some people have a contact reaction just as you described, where only the mouth is affected. It's like if you are allergic to poison ivy, the only place affected is what came in contact with the oils of the plant. Same thing here. He is having a contact reaction instead of the reactions that people think about more often.

Check with his dr. and let him know that he has suddenly developed this allergy. And be careful, because like all allergies, they can suddenly develop into more serious reactions such as asyphixiation.

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 - 05:55 pm:

A life threatening allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis.

More info at FoodAllergy.org

Joyce, both my kids are severely allergic to nuts. My DS's very first reaction was similar to your DS's at first. I called 911 and thank God I did because the EMTs had to give him epinephrine in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He developed hives all over his body hours later. I don't mean to scare you but my mommy hackles went up while reading your post. Avoid the offending fruits until you learn more. Better safe than sorry. I recommend seeing an Allergy specialist.

By Kate on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 - 06:43 pm:

Trina, did your son have any other symptoms? Was he acting strangely? I wouldn't have thought to call 911 for some bumps around the mouth so I'm wondering how you knew it was such an emergency? I want to know for any future reference that I hopefully won't need!

By Tklinreston on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - 09:47 am:

Ditto Kate's question to Trina. Please let me know what prompted you to call 911 for my future reference as well. I will definitely look into his new food allergies and have alerted his school to it.

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - 11:58 am:

It's hard to explain. I just *knew* things were serious and I had to act quickly. My DH rolled his eyes when I said I was going to call 911. He said, "Just call our pediatrician." I quickly replied, "Trust me, we don't have time." Although I really didn't know for sure, I trusted my mommy instincts, which told me things were urgent and we needed help.

DS was 3.5 at the time. DH had received a gift basket full of fruits and nuts, etc. and asked if DS could try a pistachio nut. We had avoided nuts before then because of the choking issue. We figured since he was 3.5 he should be fine. DS put the pistachio nut into his mouth and immediately spit it out. We laughed thinking he didn't care for the taste and thought that was the end of it. I started to prepare dinner. A few minutes later (5-10?) DH came up to me and said, "Ty is complaining of an itchy throat and tongue." My mommy hackles went up because in the past I had read an article about anaphylaxis and that was one of the symptoms. I rushed over to DS. He had white bumps on his chin and his cheeks were turning red. I asked, "Honey, is your throat itchy?" Ty: "Yes." Normally a talkative child, he seemed uncomfortable and only replied with one word answers. That's when it hit me that I needed to call 911. I told the dispatcher, "My 3.5 yr. old son just had his very first pistachio nut and is complaining of an itchy throat and tongue." She replied, "An ambulance is on the way!" At that point I felt real fear but at the same time felt GOOD about trusting my instincts to call for help. A police officer showed up first and after looking at DS agreed I did the right thing. The EMTs arrived shortly thereafter, examined DS and said, "CCMC, pronto!" (CCMC is our children's hospital.)

I hope I'm not scaring you too much but just want you to be aware of the possibility of how serious food allergies can be. Learn as much as you can about anaphylaxis and trust those mommy instincts. I also recommend seeing an allergy specialist. They will do testing and will be able to pinpoint allergies. Our allergist later confirmed DS's nut allergies via testing. We were so shaken by the experience that we avoided giving DD nuts. At 4 she mysteriously broke out with hives. At that point our ped. recommended getting her tested as well. Lo and behold, she's allergic to nuts, too! *Phew!* GLAD we avoided them!

By Feona on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - 01:04 pm:

Funny I heard that about some kids. Apples are forbidden on the feingold list. Some allergy... Maybe you should check it out. Sal...

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - 06:28 pm:

Wow, Trina, how scary. You did the right thing! My DH gets an itchy throat sometimes, around cats. He can only tolerate them for a little while. Then other people suggest that with medication, he could tolerate cats better. I think it's far better just to not get a cat!