Pineapple Allergy?

Updated on December 06, 2012
B.C. asks from Minneapolis, MN
10 answers

I noticed while showering one of my daughters the other night that she had hives on her chest and back. We had just eaten dinner and our fruit was fresh pineapple. She wasn't itchy or complaining of anything at all. She didn't even notice the hives. I just happened to see them while cleaning her. There were still a few there the following morning. Then, last night we had oranges with dinner and she had a few hives which I'm honestly not sure if they are still from the pineapple or new from eating the oranges.

No one in our family has ever shown any sort of food allergy or sensitivity that I'm aware of so I am looking for input from you all. Could she have developed a citrus or pineapple allergy? She has never had a problem before. Of all the things I've heard about allergies, I've never heard of pineapple being on the list! If the hives are connected to pineapple, would the next exposure create worse symptoms? How concerned do I need to be and do I need to take steps to avoid citrus exposure? Should I take her in for an allergy evaluation?

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I'd particularly appreciate thoughts from any of you specific to pineapple or citrus issues. As a side note, she's an identical twin and her sister has had no reaction. Weird!

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Featured Answers

D.B.

answers from Boston on

A friend of mine had a child with 60 food allergies. SIXTY! Pineapple and many other fruits were on the list. It's a nutritional deficiency. Her child is allergy free now. She did it very simply but with consistency. It's more than "eating right" even food adults. Food "allergies" are on the rise, but they aren't true allergies, just an inability to process certain foods because of missing nutrients. Let me know if you want to talk with her. It's an amazingly simple fix, much easier than a lifetime of elimination diets.

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More Answers

C.V.

answers from Columbia on

Has she gotten hives anywhere else, or are they localized to her back and chest? How about her legs, ears, face, wrists, ankles?

If her hives are localized to only one area (her trunk) I doubt that it's a food allergy. Food allergies are systemic and will affect her entire body. You'll see hives elsewhere, and symptoms other than hives on her trunk (scratchy throat, itchy ears, hot face and ears, itchy swollen lips, hives on extremeties).

For that reason, I would venture to guess that she has an allergy to something touching her skin, either a detergent, fabric softener, soap, shampoo, conditioner, or body spray.

I'm allergic to many things with fragrance. So I use fragrance free detergent (I'm very allergic to Tide), and low fragrance soaps/shampoos. I also use fragrance free hair products. If I don't, I start breaking out in hives over about a week. They usually start on my shoulders, chest, back, and spread from there.

Hope that helps!

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K.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

My husband is allergic to pineapple. He still eats it, though. I guess the reaction (if any) is so mild, and pineapple is so delicious, that it's worth it to him. He didn't even know he had the allergy until it showed up positive when he went in for allergy testing. He's also mildly allergic to tomatoes, potatoes and corn. He still eats all of that, though, and to my eyes never has a reaction.

Since you saw the hives, I'd start by talking to her pediatrician about having some allergy testing done, just to be safe. Get a referral to a pediatric allergist and go from there. Chances are it's nothing to worry about.

My daughter has a pretty serious tree nut allergy. She ate nuts for a couple of years of her life with no problem...in fact, one of her favorite snacks was pistachios. When she was 4, she ate a walnut and had a massive allergic reaction, hives, throat closing, itchy everywhere, it was bad. So it's possible to have no reaction for a long time, then one tiny thing kicks the allergy into overdrive and you've got a reaction. But, of course, allergies run rampant in our family on both sides, so we weren't actually surprised about it after the fact.

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J.O.

answers from Boise on

It's something worth watching.

My 4th oldest can't eat peaches. It started out as a mild reaction (actually took us some time to figure it out), over the years it has gotten worse. Her last round was pretty bad, although she didn't eat any peaches, we assume she had something that may have had them as a hidden ingredient. She didn't wake me up, but she said it was so bad she was having a hard time breathing.

I did make it clear that in the future she is to wake me up, no matter what time it is, especially now that we know it is getting so much worse.

A food diary helped us figure it out.

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J.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

Pineapple is the only food that my daughter is allergic to. Her tongue must swell slightly because she gets a funny sensation but it does not look swollen to me. My mother developed a food allergy to shell fish later in life but other than that we don't have food allergies in my family either.

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A.S.

answers from Boca Raton on

My younger son breaks out around his mouth anytime he eats pineapples.

He's done it on numerous occasions and I've never noticed him get any worse, though I certainly don't blame you for worrying about that. I would definitely be careful until you can seek some professional advice.

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S.E.

answers from Wichita Falls on

Pineapple is not an uncommon allergy but not usually a serious one. My daughter's mouth feels 'tingly' after raw pineapple or melon but has never caused a breathing problem. I would keep some antihistamine on hand but unless you use a lot of pineapple, I wouldn't worry about it. Just teach her how to avoid it.

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A.V.

answers from Los Angeles on

I haven't read the other answers but pineapple IS a citrus. I'm allergic to pineapple and am sensitive to oranges as well. As a kid I didn't get that the itchiness I experienced was an allergy...neither did my parents. As I've gotten older, I've also developed swelling and headaches with the pineapple and digestive problems with oranges. My doc said I should stay away from pineapple altogether since I could develop greater responses with more exposure. I have read that very often a pineapple allergy also means a kiwi allergy (which I have) and a possible latex allergy (which I don't have).

Eventhough she is a twin, she still has her individual system which obviously responds different than her sister's. That's normal. Oh, I also developed lactose intolerance once I hit puberty. Just something to look out for.

Discuss it with her pediatrician just to have all your bases covered. Good luck!

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C.B.

answers from Seattle on

Some reactions are definitely worse than others! We were at my mil house for dinner one night, fresh fruit being on the agenda..... anyhow I didn't give her any thinking she was to young but probably my 1 1/2 year old had dropped a piece on the floor and my daughter came and swiped it! About 5 minutes later I panicked because she stopped breathing in my arms and mil lived way out in the country. Luckily doing 90 MPH down a dirt road and an ambulance met us as we were driving! Worst day of a mothers life. When they are having and allergic reaction that bad and all u can do is watch them. She turned out to be okay.... The really weird thing is I introduced pineapple about 4 years later and she does fine! Benadryl sells 1tsp individuals. I think there is like 10 in a box... Kinda spendy but man do they come in handy! Oh and she WAS the only one so far with an allergic reaction to citrus! Hope its the last! And we never took her to a doctor for it. Hope this helps!!!!

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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

Our daughter broke out in hives after having pineapple as a toddler. She's avoided it ever since.

I have IBS and can't have any citrus. It's really acidic and hard on the body, so it honestly doesn't shock me that people are allergic to it.

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