Most food allergies manifest themselves with non life-threatening reactions such as facial swelling or hives. That being said, it’s important to let the doctor know if your child has had an allergic reaction to a food. This will not only reduce the possibility of a serious reaction in the future, but you will be taught how to deal with such reactions.

Oral allergy syndrome is not a serious food allergy. Instead, it’s a mild reaction to foods that many people have not heard about. It occurs when someone experiences an itchy or tingling sensation in his mouth or throat after eating certain foods. The person does not get hives, facial swelling or other symptoms associated with a potentially serious food allergy.

Oral allergy syndrome is seen in people with spring and summer pollen allergies. It turns out that certain food have an allergen (something a person can be allergic to) that cross reacts in people who are allergic to certain types of pollen. Here are some examples.

If you’re allergic to birch pollen, you may react to apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches, kiwi, celery, carrots, parsley, hazelnuts and almonds. If you’re allergic to grass, you may react to tomatoes, melons, celery, peaches and oranges.

The most interesting thing about oral allergy syndrome is that the person will not have symptoms if he eats the same food after it’s been cooked. In other words, apples cause symptoms, but applesauce does not. The reason you don’t react to the cooked food is because the allergen is destroyed when the food is processed.