A food allergy can be a great bane and can have many negative effects on a person’s day to day life. While it may be fairly simple to avoid some foods, the problem is often simply that the person doesn’t know they have a food allergy, or that they don’t know what precisely is triggering it. This then can make it very hard to stop the symptoms and lead to unnecessary suffering.
Here then we will look at the symptoms of a carrot allergy to help potentially identify one and manage and treat it if necessary. A carrot allergy though relatively rare in the US, affects around 25 percent of the population of Europe, while others still are allergic to the birch tree pollen often found on carrots and which results in irritation and itching in the mouth. Oral itch is an irritating symptom and can be caused by a range of different food allergies, however a full blown carrot allergy has more pronounced affects as follows:
Itching
Itching will normally begin on the lips and inside the mouth almost as soon as the carrot makes contact. Your pharynx might also itch, but in most cases this is not a sign of a serious allergic reaction.
Swelling
Swelling is commonly associated with the onset of carrot allergy. This often comes soon after contact with the carrot or after ingesting the carrots at which point the mouth can begin to swell including the lips, tongue and throat. If your throat begins to swell then you should seek immediate medical attention as this can be highly dangerous if it leads to choking or suffocation.
Sinus Problems
Sinus problems may also follow contact with carrots resulting in a running nose, weeping eyes, etc. An antihistamine will often help with these symptoms.
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis is also common, and this can cause your eye to become pink and irritated, as well as the insides of the eyelids. It will often require medical attention.
Gingivitis
In rare cases carrots can cause gingivitis – the swelling of the gums. In some rare cases this can be the only symptom of a carrot allergy making it hard to pinpoint the cause. If your dentist flags up gingivitis, then you might want to consider ruling carrots out of your diet or being tested.
Anaphylactic Shock
This is a severe allergic reaction that occurs in very serious cases and is associated with any kind of allergy. This happens when the body goes into almost an ’emergency lock down’ mode following exposure to the carrots. This results in a drastic drop in blood pressure and the patient feinting. Immediate medical attention is required in these cases, where the professional will usually administer a shot of adrenaline.
Treating and Dealing With a Carrot Allergy
If you have a carrot allergy then it is important to manage it and if you wish to try and treat it. Most allergies can be treated through gradual desensitization via immunotherapy. Here tiny amounts of the allergen are entered into the blood stream in order to gradually introduce them to the system and teach the body that they are non-harmful and not to react badly to them. By using immunotherapy it is possible to ultimately completely remove the allergy.
Otherwise it is simply a matter of avoiding carrots, which thankfully is fairly easy to do, though it may limit your options when eating out or with guests. Be sure to inform people of your allergy, and keep some antihistamines nearby to treat your symptoms in case.
