Pineapple Allergy Comes in Many Flavors
Pineapple Allergy Symptoms & Treatment
Do you have a pineapple allergy? Learn more about pineapple allergy symptoms and treatment from the allergy specialists at St. Louis Family Allergy in Missouri. Schedule your visit today! “Dr. Cajigal was friendly, professional, and informative. She took the time to explain the tests and what was going on with my allergies. She is so knowledgeable and really cared about how I was feeling. I would highly recommend this practice if you suffer from allergies and asthma.” – Sue D, July 2020
Allergy to Pineapple
Pineapple Allergy Overview
Pineapple Allergy Symptoms
Pineapple Allergy Treatment
Other Foods to Avoid
Pineapple allergy is relatively uncommon compared to other food allergies. In the 2018 Australian Schoolnuts study, 5 out of 372 children with self-reported allergies reported that they were allergic to pineapple, which would indicate that only 1-2% of food allergies involve pineapple. Readers should also keep in mind that studies where allergies are self-reported tend to overstate the true prelance of the allergy in question, as many subjects can believe that they are allergic without undergoing proper diagnosis and testing. Despite how rare it is, the topic of pineapple allergy is actually rather complex. While some individuals experience localized mouth, tongue, or throat irritation when eating pineapple, it is also possible to react to pineapple when you’re actually allergic to something else. Such is the case in certain types of oral allergy syndrome (OAS) or latex-fruit syndrome. Further complicating the topic of pineapple allergy is the fact that the allergenic proteins in pineapple can are often cross reactive with other foods. We’ve introduced a lot of unique terminology so far, so we’ll break down the different sources of pineapple allergy in more detail below.
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Isolated Pineapple Allergy
Isolated pineapple allergy describes the case where you’re allergic to pineapple itself and do not experience any cross reactivity, oral allergy syndrome, or latex-fruit syndrome. Bromelain is an allergenic substance that is found in pineapple. Isolated pineapple allergy follows the symptoms of typical food allergies, including hives, itching, swelling, and difficulty breathing.
Isolated Pineapple Allergy
Isolated pineapple allergy describes the case where you’re allergic to pineapple itself and do not experience any cross reactivity, oral allergy syndrome, or latex-fruit syndrome. Bromelain is an allergenic substance that is found in pineapple. Isolated pineapple allergy follows the symptoms of typical food allergies, including hives, itching, swelling, and difficulty breathing.
Pineapple Allergy Cross-Reactivity
When discussing allergic reactions, the term ‘cross-reactivity’ describes when the proteins in one substance are similar to the proteins found in another substance. If you’re allergic to pineapple, for example, you may also experience allergic reactions to other foods because of proteins that are similar enough to the substance that you’re allergic to. Pineapple allergy cross-reactivity is often attributed to profilin, another allergenic protein found in pineapple. There are many foods that can be cross-reactive with pineapple, including apricot, avocado, banana, cherry, chestnut, grape, kiwi, papaya, passion fruit, and peaches. Not only do these other reactions make it more difficult to avoid trigger foods, they also make it harder to pin down a pineapple allergy. Cross reactive foods should generally be avoided if you have a pineapple allergy. Although cross-reactive allergy reactions are usually not as severe as a ‘normal’ food allergy, and are often limited to mild symptoms like itching or hives, anaphylaxis is still possible.
Pineapple Oral Allergy Syndrome
Oral allergy syndrome (OAS), also known as pollen fruit syndrome (PFS), is another distinct source of pineapple allergy. Oral allergy syndrome occurs when proteins in certain foods, such as pineapple, are similar to the allergenic proteins found in pollens. When you have pineapple oral allergy syndrome, you’re actually allergic to birch tree pollen, but your body recognizes similar proteins in pineapple as pollen. Many other foods are implicated in pineapple oral allergy syndrome, including fruits like apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, plums and pears; spices like caraway, fennel, coriander, and aniseed; vegetables like carrot, celery, and parsley; and nuts like soybeans, peanuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. Oral allergy syndrome symptoms are typically isolated to the mouth, and include itching, swelling, and tingling. If your pineapple allergy is caused by oral allergy syndrome, you can actually prevent pineapple reactions by heating your pineapple before you eat.
Pineapple and Latex Allergy
Another subtlety with pineapple allergy is the fact that your allergy may actually be caused by latex, rather than the unique proteins in pineapple. Many foods contain latex, including kiwi, mangos, passion fruit, figs, avocados, bananas, chestnuts, soy, and strawberries, giving rise to term latex-fruit syndrome. Latex allergy by food consumption typically causes itching, swelling, and difficulty breathing, similar to normal food allergies.
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Pineapple Allergy Symptoms
Pineapple allergy symptoms are often similar to those caused by other food allergies, but may include additional symptoms due to cross-reactivity with pollen or reactions to latex, depending on what you’re allergic to.
Generally, symptoms can include:
- Itching and swelling of the lips, tongue, and oropharynx
- Burning and soreness affecting the tongue and the oral mucosa
- General mouth and throat irritation
- Swelling
- Hives
- Difficulty breathing
- Gastrointestinal symptoms, including stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation
- Asthma symptoms
- Anaphylaxis (rare), causing severe hives, vomiting, diarrhea, angioedema, difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing, and/or low blood pressure
How to Treat Pineapple Allergy Symptoms
Pineapple allergy symptoms can be effectively managed with the right mix of allergen avoidance strategies and reactive medication use.
- Avoid pineapple.
- Avoid fruits with latex if you’re actually allergic to latex.
- Avoid reactive foods if you have oral allergy syndrome. Symptoms of oral allergy syndrome can be prevented by heating reactive foods before eating them.
- Antihistamines can be taken to relieve allergy symptoms.
- Carry epinephrine (an EpiPen) in case of anaphylactic emergencies.
- Bronchodilators can relieve asthma symptoms.
- Corticosteroids can reduce inflammation in the airways.
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Pineapple Allergy Other Foods to Avoid
As we’ve covered above, the source of your pineapple allergy may be caused by allergenic proteins in the pineapple itself, latex-fruit syndrome, or oral allergy syndrome. Given these unique causes, it’s important to get a proper diagnosis from an allergist to best understand how to navigate your pineapple allergy. General guidance on food avoidance states that:
- If you’re allergic to profilin in pineapple, you should probably avoid apricot, avocado, banana, cherry, chestnut, grape, kiwi, papaya, passion fruit, and peaches.
- If you have oral allergy syndrome that reacts to pineapple, you should probably also avoid apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, plums pears, caraway, fennel, coriander, aniseed, carrot, celery, parsley, soybeans, peanuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. You should also remember that oral allergy symptoms can usually be avoided by heating these foods before eating them.
- If you have latex-fruit syndrome, you should probably avoid kiwi, mangos, passion fruit, figs, avocados, bananas, chestnuts, soy, and strawberries.
References
[1] American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: https://acaai.org/ [2] Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America: https://www.aafa.org/
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