Itchy hands or a sneezing fit every time you peel potatoes? Potato is a staple in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany, so it is hard to avoid and easy to overlook. Our test checks your blood for IgE antibodies to a whole potato extract, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components including tomato, birch pollen and latex.
Potato belongs to the nightshade family, with tomato, pepper and aubergine. Its main allergen is patatin, the potato's own storage protein. In a Finnish study of atopic children with positive skin tests to raw potato, about three in four had IgE to patatin.
Potato reactions tend to follow two patterns. Adults more often describe symptoms from handling raw potato. Small children, especially those with eczema, more often show sensitisation to potato as a food. Potato sensitisation has also been described in children with birch pollen allergy.
When peeling raw potatoes, people describe itchy hands, hives where the potato touched the skin, sneezing, a runny nose or wheezing. After eating potato, people describe itching in the mouth, hives, eczema flares 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.
A positive potato result shows that your blood has IgE that recognises potato proteins. It does not tell you that you will react, or how strongly. Many people with potato IgE eat cooked potatoes every day without problems.
Because potato is such a staple, never cut it out of a child's diet on a result alone. Take the result to a doctor or paediatrician, who can weigh it against what you actually see.
Your finger-prick sample goes to the lab, which measures IgE to a whole potato extract. A whole extract contains the mix of proteins in potato, including patatin, so it shows whether you are sensitised to potato 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 tomato, birch pollen and latex.
Page last updated
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.
Raw potato releases proteins that can cause itchy hands, sneezing or wheezing when you handle it. Many people with this pattern eat cooked potato without trouble. The test shows whether you have IgE to potato; a doctor can explain what that means for you.
Potato sensitisation does occur in small children, especially those with eczema. After a reaction, start with a paediatrician or paediatric allergist. Do not remove a staple food from a child's diet without medical advice.
Not exactly. Potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine are related, but each has its own proteins. The test checks potato and tomato separately, so you can see whether they appear together.
