I'm not crazy!

In my early teens I had to stop eating apples because they made my mouth, eyes, lips, and ears itch, my sinuses fill up and my throat swell up. More and more fruits were put on the banned list. Peaches, pears, cherries, apricots, plums, nectarines. Even just peeling or cutting them makes me swell up and itch. I've noticed that carrots, and almonds do the same thing to me, and peeling and cutting potatoes. The weird thing is that I can eat them all if they have been cooked.

We went to the allergist for Reuben, and since they tested for air born stuff, I was wondering if he had the same food allergy that I have, because it looks a lot like hay fever, but it's not air born. 

Turns out, it is air born! Well, kind of. I have a cross-reactive pollen allergy. The proteins in the fruit look a lot like pollen to my body, so it reacts like I snorted pollen. First, it was nice to know I am not crazy, and have proof that I am not just trying to get out of eating fruit. He handed me a pamphlet about it (they have a pamphlet about it!) My list of fruit, including the carrots and almonds, are next to the birch pollen. He said, that it is just going to get worse with age, and more things will be added to the list.

But, he also said he could fix it, with shots, but it might be worth it to have a nice juicy peach next season! So, I'll be making an appointment for myself before peach season! It's been 28 years since I've had a caramel apple, I might have to make the appointment sooner.