What a story and how uncommon. Banana allergy, which is uncommon, is caused due to a protein known as chitinase. Most people who are allergic to bananas are also allergic to kiwi and avocado since both of these fruits also have chitinase.
This scenario brings up an awful story that just recently happened to a co-worker of mine who 'literally' is allergic to everything. She went to the grocery store and purchased apples. She went home, ate her apple and was rushed to the hospital within minutes. The reason? The grocery store used peanut oil on the apples to produce the shiny exterior. As she is highly allergic to peanuts, she went into anaphylactic shock. She contacted the grocery store to find out that they used peanut oil on their apples and complained to the management for not marking their apples for people that have allergies as most products.
Since banana allergies are so uncommon, this scenario of a sudden onset of allergic reactions seems odd although it is plausible. I would contact the grocery store that you purchased the bananas from and ask them if they put anything on the bananas for 'show'. Also, if you purchase bananas from the same store all the time, ask them if they obtained their bananas from a different region then your prior purchases. My second thought about your onset of allergy would be pesticide usage.
Talk to your physician. There is testing for allergies to pin point your exact allergy. Here is a link that explains how allergy testing is conducted from the National Institute of Health http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003519.htm.
Could you kindly keep us updated on what you find out? Your story is very interesting and I would be very interested in what you find out. Good luck!
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Hi Anonymous,
What a story and how uncommon. Banana allergy, which is uncommon, is caused due to a protein known as chitinase. Most people who are allergic to bananas are also allergic to kiwi and avocado since both of these fruits also have chitinase.
This scenario brings up an awful story that just recently happened to a co-worker of mine who 'literally' is allergic to everything. She went to the grocery store and purchased apples. She went home, ate her apple and was rushed to the hospital within minutes. The reason? The grocery store used peanut oil on the apples to produce the shiny exterior. As she is highly allergic to peanuts, she went into anaphylactic shock. She contacted the grocery store to find out that they used peanut oil on their apples and complained to the management for not marking their apples for people that have allergies as most products.
Since banana allergies are so uncommon, this scenario of a sudden onset of allergic reactions seems odd although it is plausible. I would contact the grocery store that you purchased the bananas from and ask them if they put anything on the bananas for 'show'. Also, if you purchase bananas from the same store all the time, ask them if they obtained their bananas from a different region then your prior purchases. My second thought about your onset of allergy would be pesticide usage.
Talk to your physician. There is testing for allergies to pin point your exact allergy. Here is a link that explains how allergy testing is conducted from the National Institute of Health http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003519.htm.
Could you kindly keep us updated on what you find out? Your story is very interesting and I would be very interested in what you find out. Good luck!
April 18, 2010 - 5:39amThis Comment
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