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Avocado allergies are quite rare. The exotic fruit has become common among consumers, but there are cases when people are faced with intolerance to the fruit. The disease can be unexpectedly discovered in adults and even young children.
Can you be allergic to avocados?
Allergy is an inadequate reaction of the immune system to substances with which a person interacts. One of the varieties of this disease includes food allergies - a condition when allergic reactions occur when consuming certain foods. In Russia, the incidence of food allergies ranges from 15 to 35%. And research conducted by the Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation of America showed that about 2% of US residents suffer from intolerance to certain foods. Of these, 10% are allergic to avocados.
Avocado is not a strong allergen. But people who are prone to seasonal reactions to pollen (hay fever) or to certain fruits may have an allergic reaction to these fruits as well. In some cases, the disease is quite serious. You need to know its signs in order to prevent unpleasant consequences.
Causes of an allergic reaction
The reasons for the development of allergies to avocado are in the fruit itself. The pulp of the fruit contains proteins—glycoproteins. This substance is a “provocateur”, and when the immune system is weakened, it is perceived as foreign, which causes a negative reaction in the body. However, heat treatment of fruits helps to destroy the substance and makes the fruit safe.
Naturally grown fruits do not contain harmful chemicals. But for safety during long transportation, green avocado fruits are treated with ethylene while still on the plantations. This is a special gas that penetrates the pulp of the fruit and promotes its ripening. At the same time, the enzyme chitinase is produced - a strong allergen, which also provokes an adverse reaction from a weakened immune system.
Cross allergy is a condition in which a person who is intolerant to certain foods reacts to others that contain the same allergen. Thus, an allergy to kiwi, bananas or papaya is likely to cause a similar response in the body to eating avocados.
The final cause of avocado allergy is heredity. According to research, if one parent is predisposed to allergies, the child has a 30% chance of developing an allergic condition. If the mother or father has the disease, then with a probability of 60–80% the child will also be susceptible to it. Avocado allergies are very difficult to identify at an early age, since the fruit is rarely included in baby food. However, the first time you eat the fruit, it will make itself known.
How does an allergy to avocado manifest?
The symptoms of an avocado allergy are completely similar to the signs of a food allergy.The reaction may appear immediately or within several hours after eating the fruit. Allergies often appear after a few days. Adults may not notice the first symptoms of an avocado allergy:
- tingling in the mouth and nasopharynx;
- sore throat;
- tingling and peeling of the skin;
- cough.
After some time, if everything is left unattended, the situation will worsen and more pronounced signs will appear:
- redness and rashes on the skin;
- nausea and vomiting, flatulence, diarrhea or constipation;
- redness of the eyes, conjunctivitis;
- numbness of the tongue;
- inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose.
The symptoms of allergies in children are similar to those in adults. The child becomes restless, capricious and cries. Constant itching of the skin can lead to the appearance of sores and ulcers. In this case, you should immediately consult a doctor.
In severe cases of avocado allergy, swelling similar to that shown in the photo appears. They begin in the lower part of the face and, if treatment is not started, rise to the nose and eyes, gradually covering the entire face. Sometimes the situation worsens so much that angioedema, or Quincke's edema, occurs. With this reaction, the patient's eyes stop opening. The swelling spreads to the mucous membrane of the larynx, which causes wheezing and makes breathing much more difficult.
Diagnostic methods
Methods for diagnostic detection of avocado allergy are resorted to after the patient has been examined by an allergist. In most cases, symptoms appear with a long delay.To identify the allergen, the doctor refers the patient to a laboratory analysis of venous blood. The study requires preparation: 3 days before donating blood, it is necessary to exclude any emotional and physical stress. This test has no contraindications and is allowed for children from 6 months of age. The results are not affected by taking antihistamines.
The second method of determining the presence of an allergen is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. With its help, specific antibodies are detected in a patient for a variety of pathologies. This will help the doctor more accurately determine the cause of the allergy and identify not only allergenic foods, but also other substances to which a negative reaction occurs.
How to treat avocado allergy
Allergy cannot be completely cured; it is a chronic disease. However, if you undergo a course of medication and follow an appropriate diet, you can achieve stable remission.
The patient must draw up a dietary menu with a nutritionist. First of all, avocado and any dishes containing it are excluded from the diet. In addition, foods with a high level of allergenicity and other fruits that can cause cross-allergy - kiwi, banana, mango, papaya - are removed from the menu.
If a food allergy occurs, the menu must include foods with moderate allergenicity: lean meat (veal, lamb, turkey), cereals (rice, buckwheat), legumes, corn. The diet also includes fruits and vegetables with low allergenicity levels: apples, watermelon, zucchini, lettuce.
As a rule, drug treatment is carried out to relieve the effects of a mild allergic reaction: swelling, redness and itching. The most popular antihistamines: Suprastin, Loratadine, Tavegil.To relieve acute reactions, drugs based on epiniphrine are used.
Folk remedies are ineffective in treating severe food allergies, since most medicinal herbs are themselves strong allergens. But to relieve swelling, redness and itching, you can take baths and treat the skin with decoctions of chamomile, string or mummy solution.
For a medicinal infusion of mumiyo, 1 g of resin is dissolved in 1 liter of water. The liquid is used for lotions and rinses. This way you can reduce itching and redness of the skin without using medications. To prepare an infusion of string or chamomile, you need to take 2 tbsp. l. herbs, pour boiling water and leave for 30 minutes. Add the resulting solution to the bath.
Is it possible to eat avocados if you have allergies?
If a child or adult is allergic to avocados, the fruit is excluded from the diet. If this is not done, mild manifestations of the disease will eventually give way to more severe ones, which can lead to Quincke's edema or anaphylactic shock. In this regard, in order not to risk your life, you need to completely stop consuming avocados.
If you have an allergic reaction to avocado, you should be careful about consuming foods that can cause cross-allergy. These include mango, kiwi, banana and papaya. If these fruits also cause unwanted symptoms, then it is better to exclude them from the diet.
Preventive actions
An avocado allergy can appear out of the blue. If such a problem already exists, you must completely stop eating the fruit.However, there are times when avocado is not listed as an ingredient in dishes. To avoid unpleasant consequences, you should always check their ingredients and carefully study the composition of the products in the store. In addition, it is worth paying attention to the composition of cosmetics and hygiene products. In some of them, manufacturers use avocado oils or extract. Additionally, it is recommended to take care of your immune system:
- do exercises daily;
- perform breathing exercises;
- temper yourself, take a contrast shower;
- give up cigarettes and alcohol.
You should not give exotic fruit to a child if he is under 1.5 years old. The immune system is a complex structure; at such an early age it is just being formed, so it can often react inadequately to unfamiliar foods. If a negative reaction occurs, the allergy may remain for life.
Conclusion
An allergy to avocado can be caused by a weak immune system, a tendency to seasonal fever, or an intolerance to related fruits. This must be taken into account when treating and properly forming a diet. This is necessary so as not to cause a resumption of allergic reactions and not to aggravate their course.
tearing, sneezing and a swollen cheek - this is my reaction to eating half an avocado