Itchy mouth after eating fruit or nuts
Your mouth itches after a raw apple but cooked apple is fine? That pattern has a name, and it often starts with pollen, not the fruit. Our test measures IgE sensitisation to 300 allergens and allergen components, including tree pollens and the foods that commonly cross-react with them.
Pollen food syndrome
Some proteins in raw fruit, vegetables and nuts look very similar to proteins in pollen. If your immune system is sensitised to the pollen, it can mistake the food protein for it. The result is itching or tingling of the lips, mouth or throat within minutes of eating, which usually fades within an hour.
This is called pollen food syndrome or oral allergy syndrome. The classic example in central and northern Europe is birch pollen: many people sensitised to birch react to raw apple, pear, cherry, peach, carrot, celery or hazelnut. Many of these proteins break down with heat, which is why cooked or tinned versions are often tolerated.
Common pollen and food pairings
These associations are well described. Not everyone sensitised to a pollen reacts to the foods.
- Birch-family tree pollen (birch, alder, hazel): apple, pear, cherry, plum, peach, hazelnut, almond, carrot, celery.
- Mugwort: celery and some spices; sometimes reported together with birch as celery-mugwort-spice syndrome.
- Grass pollen: tomato, melon and orange are reported in some people, less consistently.
- Ragweed: melon and banana.
When it is more than an itchy mouth
Most pollen food reactions stay mild and stay in the mouth. Some food proteins are more stable, though. Reactions to peanut, tree nuts, shellfish and fish are more likely to spread beyond the mouth: hives, swelling, vomiting, wheezing or feeling faint. A tingly mouth after peanuts is not the same as a tingly mouth after a raw apple.
The test cannot tell you how severe a future reaction would be. Anyone with symptoms beyond the mouth should see a doctor, who may arrange more detailed testing.
What the test shows
From one finger-prick sample, the lab checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, including birch, alder, grass, mugwort and ragweed pollen and the major foods. Your lab report gives each a measured value and class, from Negative to Very high.
A pattern like strong birch plus hazelnut fits pollen food syndrome. It is still a pattern, not a diagnosis. Take it to a doctor before you drop foods from your diet.
When to see a doctor first
See a doctor if mouth symptoms come with swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, hives elsewhere on the body, vomiting, wheezing or dizziness, or if they follow peanuts, tree nuts, fish or shellfish. Call 112 or your local emergency number for any trouble breathing or swallowing.
Allergens often linked to this
Related symptoms
300 allergens. One test.
A finger-prick sample at home, sent by post. A detailed lab report typically 5 days after the lab receives your sample, and our plain-English guide to reading it. €300, €1 per allergen.
Questions
Why can I eat apple pie but not a raw apple?
The birch-like protein in apple breaks down when heated. That is why many people with pollen food syndrome report no symptoms with cooked, baked or tinned fruit. Ask a doctor before you rely on that for any food.
Is an itchy mouth after eating dangerous?
Pollen-related mouth itch is usually mild and short-lived. It needs a doctor's attention if it spreads beyond the mouth, causes swelling, or follows peanuts, tree nuts, fish or shellfish.
Is my mouth itch worse in pollen season?
Many people say so. When your immune system is already busy with birch pollen in spring, reactions to related foods can feel stronger. The test checks both the pollens and the foods.
Can the test separate pollen-related from more serious nut reactions?
Not fully. It measures IgE to whole allergens and to single allergen proteins (molecular components), which the panel includes for most pollens and foods. Telling mild pollen-related reactions apart from more serious ones can need further testing, which a doctor can arrange and interpret.