Potato allergy? - Allergies Message Board

CD123 · 08-27-2006, 06:12 PM

I seem to be the only person in the world with allergy (or intolerance?). If i eat potato - the purer the worse it is though even a little starch in a sauce/cake can d the job - I do the following in approximately this order and within 15 minutes - feel a bit edgy or down, eyes and nose stream, constant yawning, disorientation, flustered, flushed, slurring, need to lie down / sleep. Surely I can't be the only person? Could it be related to blood pressure? Similar reaction with vinegar and mustard (though with mustard includes itchy nose / slightly swollen tongue - though a test suggested I am not anaphylactic. I've been like this since birth. Can anyone shed any light?

sneezydiva · 08-27-2006, 11:15 PM

Are you by chance allergic to birch pollen? My ENT says both apples and potatos cross react with birch pollen. In spring, I can't eat apples because I get a reaction.

CD123 · 08-28-2006, 04:14 PM

Hmm, how does it affect you? Anything like mine? Have to admit though I don't think it could be this - cooked potato has a very strong reaction and I don't have havfever to any extreme extent. Thanks for helping out though

Anjjou72 · 09-04-2006, 05:30 AM

I'm allergic to white potato, not reds or Idaho however, and my reactions are intestinal, usually involving cramping and diarrhea. Like Sneezy says, I'm also allergic to Birch and the same goes for me when it comes to apples in the springtime. A big no-no!

CD123, if potato's are bothering you, then simply just eliminate them from your diet. Eliminating them is better than the alternative of suffering.

becstar72 · 07-07-2008, 08:04 PM

I am now 35 years old and after 3+ years of suffering,have come to the conclusion that I have developed an allergy to potato as uncommon as it is. My throat & my sinuses become swollen, even the ENT specialists had no idea what was causing the problem. I worked out that it must have been an allergy when I felt better after taking antihistamines. The allergy specialist recommended that after going through the scratch test for airborne allergens and a blood test to double check - which I had no reaction to whatsoever that I read a book called Friendly Food and I removed all possible reactive foods as per instructions in the book. The biggest staple that remains one of the least possible causes of reaction is potato, the book has many recipes that include potato. One night I made an excellent quiche with mashed potato crust, which I ate quite a large portion of and later that night my throat swelled so badly, I couldn't swallow properly. Every time I go to the supermarket now I have to check the ingredient list of everything I buy because I have found that even products that you would never expect to have anything potato in it such as those dehydrated noodle cups do have potato stach as a thickener for the sauce. It is quite disheartening to realise that there is potato in most canned soup or at least potato starch from which I still have a reaction no matter how small the amount is that I eat, I love potato but unfortunately it doesn't love me.
I am quite annoyed at the comment made by Anjjou72 sometimes elimination can mean a whole lot of hard work. I now spend twice as much time on grocery shopping as I did before and believe that not all packaging is as accurate as it claims so you can do your best to avoid deliberately buying anything blatantly obvious like potato chips etc, but who's to say that it might just be in something in a hidden form. Frustrating!
Hope this helps someone.