Found out last week that I am allergic to pineapple of all things!  I've never heard of anyone being allergic to pineapple before and there isn't much on the net about it either.  Basically, after eating fresh pineapple from the ready-to-eat packet my tounge and lips swelled and I had a trout pout for days!  I've subconciously picked pineapple out of things such as chinese and pizzas so I haven't really eaten it before hence why it's taken so long to discover this reaction, I was just trying to eat something healthy for a change.  Sods law I guess.

Don't suppose anyone else knows of anyone who is allergic to pineapple?

not that i can think of but i know people who are allergic to coconut and diluting orange and other strange things. at least its pretty easy to avoid :) i think crespin said shes allergic to strawberries or peaches or something??

> I had a trout pout for days!

some people pay a fortune for that :)

seriously though, i'm sorry you had such a reaction, i hope your alright. since you had such a reaction i'd carefully check ingredients for things in future.

Granitecitygirl...me too...although not as extreme as you. I just get tingly sore lips and tongue but no swelling. I also get it with a lot of tomato-based pasta sauces etc. so always have to make my own.

My mum has a severe allergic reaction to anything to do with oranges.  It really knocks her for six for a good few days with a swollen face, fingers, sores in her mouth and runny eyes as well as blisters if really bad.

It means she cant just help herself to the usual sweets either or fruit cake/puddings etc (unless she makes it without the peel).  She has to be really careful when out buying fruit and veg that she doesn't pick up anything that is near the oranges.   If I know she is coming to stay with us I tend to buy a small selection of fruit just for her and keep it the other side of the kitchen to our usual fruit basket as even an apple sat beside an orange is enough to set off a reaction.  She also tends to keep glasses separate for visitors who drink orange juice with their drinks etc.  Mum used to really like gin and never thought about the ingredients.  It wasn't until she collasped one evening during a dinner party that we realised how bad it was.  We all naturally jokingly thought she had perhaps drunk too much as the symptoms were very similar but she had only had half a glass of G&T!

thats awful kerrib, your poor mum!

Me Too but again not as bad as you. Interestingly I use tinned pineapple in a carrot cake and don't have a problem. It tends to be fresh pineapple that makes my mouth tingly I thought it may have something to do with the acidity. Shame cos I love the taste

Same here - I love fresh pineapple but it makes all the inside of my mouth and lips swell up.  Sometimes I think it's worth it cos it's so scrummy but then I worry in case my throat swells up :-o

I'm really grateful that it's only pineapples I'm allergic to.  Imagine how hard life must be for those with more common allergies - my brother gets anaphalaxis (sp?) from nuts.  I think pineapple will be easy to avoid - I don't even like them lol!  I just wanted to try and make an effort to eat healthier.  The waistline hasn't trimmed down any since coming off chocolate 4 weeks ago (maybe I'm just impatient).  I don't think the pout is worth the discomfort to be honest :-)

just be careful, i've found its amazing what gets into stuff, but yes its not as scary as a nut allergy etc as they get everywhere...

if your not sure about any products all the big supermarkets should be able to look into things in detail for you and check.

Kerrib, I'm sorry about your mum.  I guess she must be used to monitoring food ingredients now, but it must have been so difficult to get into the habit at first.

Paula, Blackandgrey, thank you! I'm not the only one in the world :-)  I thought I was a bit of an oddity.  Looking on the web, it appears that tinned pineapples are ok.  Bizarre.

It runs through my daughter.........
She only has to have a very little to cause a fierce diarrhoea attack.
She always says she is allergic but it is a different type of allergy.
Karen 

Pineapple is very good for fur ball in cats and dogs helps to brake down and digest the fur.
Our little dog eats chunks of fresh pineapple when I'm cutting it up...:-)

I have a latex allergy and certain foods cause me to have a 'cross reaction' - one being pineapple. I find it takes the skin off the roof of my mouth and I get asthma like symptoms also, if I prepare a fresh pineapple I get little blisters on my hands like an eczema flare up - the same happens when I prepare potatoes and tomatoes. I can't eat a whole range of fruits the worst for me are bananas, melon, passion fruit, kiwi and pineapple and it all stems from the latex allergy. Here is a list of trigger foods:

Following are some foods that may cause a cross reaction:
    * apples, bananas, kiwi, peaches, plums, figs, grapes, melons, papaya, passion fruit, cherries, nectarines,  pears, pineapple and strawberries;
    * carrots, celery, raw potatoes, avocados and tomatoes;
    * chestnuts and hazelnuts;
    * wheat and rye.

I became allergic to latex after having many operations on my hips as a child. Apparently increased exposure to latex causes intolerance. It isn't pleasant because its surprising just how many day to day items contain latex. Tonight, my Husband and I were in the car together and although he had thoroughly washed his hands after wearing latex gloves, I got quite wheezy and itchy and he hadn't touched me, we were just sat beside each other - I can smell the stuff from a mile off and I have reactions every day.

Here is a very informative website -

http://www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/indoors/food_safety/latex/latex2.htm

Sorry, I can't do posh links  :-D

I get very very painful stomach from Pineapple!
Only the fresh stuff gives me this not tinned...
And it took me few "can't walk and crying" kind of stomach pains to put together the fact I had had pineapple...
Love fresh pineapple so I did sneak a piece in my mouth few times but even that caused a reaction so I now steer clear.

Interesting thing is I didn't always react like this!
Also Mango used to give me sore lips/mouth but I have no problems with Mango at the moment!

Pineapple contains a large amount of a potent enzyme called Bromelain. It breaks down protein, hence the blisters and roof of mouth problem.It is literally digesting the skin of the digestive system of those particularily sensitive to it.
It can be smashed up and used as a meat tenderiser, infact, meat tenderising powders are basically Bromelain.
Gammon steaks were traditionally eaten with a ring of fresh pineapple for that very reason, tinned can only be for decoration.

Tinned pineapple has had the enzyme destroyed ( denatured) by heat treatment as have juices (UHT).

My daughter is allergic to pineapple too. She only has to have a small amount to cause huge blisters on her tongue which are incredibly painful and last for ages.

I'm allergic to apples, pears, hazelnuts and a variety of other tree fruits and nuts. It is caused by a birch pollen allergy and isn't that uncommon. Strangely I can eat all fruits if they are cooked as it kills the enzyme I'm allergic to. I'm not sure if that works with a pineapple allergy though - we haven't tried it.