BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Allergies & Colds Strawberry plant allergy

Living in Oregon, I love to take my kids to u-pick farms this time of year. I took them to pick some strawberries this morning. When I got home, I had an awfull, itchy rash up and down my arms. It looked (and felt) like tons of huge misquito bites. I washed my arms and it went away after about 10 minutes.

I have noticed that my arms would get a little itchy when I pick strawberries from our plants in the yard, but it has never been this bad before.

I have never had a reaction from eating or handling strawberries, just when I touch the plants.

Has anyone else had this experience? I would hate to have to give up all having all of those fresh (and cheap) strawberries!

The thing about allergies is, it just takes that one extra time to push the histamines in your body over the edge to cause a reaction.

So you can literally not be allergic to something one day, and breaking out from it the next.

Although, you might want to check and make sure there are no other plants tangled up within those strawberry plants (like poison oak, ivy or sumac) that might be the real cause of your allergy.

But, if it is only the leaves causing your allergy, and not eating the strawberries themselves; you can always go picking with gloves and long sleeves to minimize your contact with the plants.

Who would believe that such a delicious little fruit could be so bothersome? I have problems with strawberries too but it involves eating them. I have the most common symptom of strawberry allergy which is oral allergy syndrome, an allergic reaction in the mouth or throat. My symptoms are an itching and slight swelling in the throat. Others may have the itching and swelling in the mouth or on the lips or tongue. I usually can get away with eating a 1/2 cup of strawberries every four days. More often than that and I have the allergic reaction. I probably be better off to eat other types of fruit in their place. The oral symptoms are accompanied by watery, itchy eyes, runny nose and some sneezing.

Strawberries also can trigger skin allergies, including itching, hives and contact dermatitis. Some people cannot even go near strawberries or their plants without having a reaction.

For those who have a problem with strawberry plants or their fruit, it's probably better to avoid them all together.

Why are there people who have allergies to strawberries, anyway?

Basically, it's because your immune system has a kind of malfunction. The majority of people with food allergies have their malfunction with one or more of eight common food allergy triggers: dairy, wheat, soy, eggs, nuts, peanuts, shellfish or fish. But some have the problem with many other foods, including strawberries. I know someone who is deathly allergic to bananas.

Here is how the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network describes it:
A food allergy is an immune system response to a food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. Once the immune system decides that a particular food is harmful, it creates specific antibodies to it. The next time the individual eats that food, the immune system releases massive amounts of chemicals, including histamine, to protect the body. These chemicals trigger a cascade of allergic symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and/or cardiovascular system. Scientists estimate that approximately 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies.