Hi there,
A few weeks ago, I had some pineapple and noticed that immediately afterward, my hand became inflamed with hives. A few hours later, it was on my forehead and over my stomach. I didn't think too much of it. A few days later, I had a fruit cocktail mix with pineapple in it and reacted in the same way-- but this time, my throat, lips and mouth swelled. I started getting wheezy, so I told my boss who immediately drove me to the hospital. The nurse told me that since I was coherent and didn't have any visible hives to count (just itchyness), that it was probably a mild reaction. I gave up waiting for a doctor after a little while since my symptoms eventually went away. What could he have told me that my normal doctor couldn't have?
I'm now booked for an allergist in six months. In the meantime, I'm not entirely out of the clear. I work with pineapple almost daily in childcare. I get other people to serve it whenever I can. I get a mild reaction if I'm in the room where it's being eaten or served, almost like my skin gets prickly and my tongue/palate get really itchy. Also, I feel like I get less of a reaction when it's frozen and I'm in the same room. People didn't believe me. Is this true?
I've also done a lot of thinking lately, now that I've been on both sides of the table. I think that most people don't care about FAs because they don't know what it feels like. They assume that since the people with FAs don't touch the food that they're eating, they're in the clear. As horrid as this sounds, why can't everyone have at least one (even mild) reaction to know what it feels like to be afraid to eat something?
I'm avoiding certain brands of yogurt now because I know they produce a pineapple flavour, and I had a terrible reaction (twice!) after drinking a non-pineapple flavoured yogurt smoothie.