Tingly lips after a juicy pear, but poached pears are fine? In northern and central Europe that pattern usually traces back to birch pollen, and pear often travels with apple. Our test checks your blood for IgE antibodies to a whole pear extract, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components including birch pollen and apple.
Pear is a close relative of apple, and the two behave much the same way in allergy. The main pear allergen, Pyr c 1, is a PR-10 protein that looks very like Bet v 1, the main birch pollen protein. Antibodies made against birch pollen often recognise it, so many people who sneeze in spring also notice a mouth itch with raw pear.
PR-10 proteins break down with heat, which is why cooked, tinned or baked pear is often tolerated. Pear also contains a lipid transfer protein (LTP) and a profilin. The LTP is heat-stable and is linked to stronger reactions, mainly in southern Europe.
The classic description is itching or tingling of the lips, mouth or throat within minutes of eating a raw pear, often in people with spring hay fever. This is called oral allergy syndrome or pollen-food syndrome. It usually settles quickly.
Less often, people report hives, swelling or stomach symptoms. Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or feeling faint after eating is an emergency. Call 112 (EU) or your local emergency number. Do not wait for a test.
Many people sensitised to birch show IgE to pear and eat pears without trouble. So a positive pear result shows sensitisation. It does not tell you that you will react, or how strongly.
The useful part is the pattern. If pear, apple and birch (Bet v 1) all show up, that points to the birch-related picture. If peach LTP (Pru p 3) shows up as well, a doctor will look more closely. Take the result to a doctor before you change what you eat.
Your finger-prick sample goes to the lab, which measures IgE to a whole pear extract. A whole extract contains the mix of proteins in the fruit, so it shows whether you are sensitised to pear as a whole, not which single protein your antibodies recognise. Your lab report gives a measured value and class, from Negative to Very high, on the same report as birch pollen and the apple and peach components.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
The birch-like protein in pear, Pyr c 1, breaks down with heat. Poached, baked or tinned pear often causes no symptoms. That pattern is common but not universal, so talk to a doctor if you have had stronger reactions.
Often, yes. Apple and pear are close relatives, and both have proteins that resemble birch pollen. The test checks pear, apple and birch in the same sample, so you can see whether they appear together.
In northern and central Europe, usually. Most pear sensitisation there is linked to birch pollen. In southern Europe, a heat-stable lipid transfer protein plays a bigger role.
