I've often joked that I should be on the Twinkie and Devil Dog diet, since so many fresh fruits and veggies give me the itchies.

I've been all hive-y the past two days.  I've been avoiding the raw stuff and sticking with the cooked, but it hasn't made a difference.     I guess the pollen is just too much too soon for me this year. 

Honestly, I think that a lot of people are having an unusually difficult spring for allergies.  I used to really suffer when I was a teen, but as I got older, one spring I'd be fine, the next horrible depending on the pollen counts.

My ds has done allergy shots and his environmentals have improved vastly, but he's having a bad time right now.  So, it just may be that this is a particularly bad spring

I have good insurance.  That won't be a problem.  My problem will lie with the time and commitment for the next year or so.  Not so much right now but I am on the list for the next name pull for the DOC which will more than likely be happening in July when the budget passes. 

I do feel better not eating any fruit at the moment though but I will still get a bit itchy here and there. Thanks for that info CM.  I appreciate it! 

Allergy shots are a really long-term investment, yes.  It's also a huge time commitment, but the first year is generally the worst there (twice weekly, or weekly injections).  If you have decent insurance, they may be covered.

I will say that DD's six years of allergy shots literally changed her life.  Ditto for her dad as a kid.

She still needs daily zyrtec, but I can usually count on one hand the number of times she uses a rescue inhaler annually, and she hasn't needed nasal steroids or Singulair in about three years.

No question that doing allergy shots altered the allergic march for her.  No question.

When she started, she had OAS that was rapidly worsening and growing to include more and more fruit.  Now, the only thing that she has trouble with are apples during birch (filbert) pollen season (we live in a filbert growing region, so the pollen levels can get crazy high).

Shots don't help everyone, of course-- and you won't really know which group you're in until you've been at it a year.   

Just an update.  I stopped eating fruit since posting this and although I still have some symptoms, I am not a big welt like I was.  I think my environmentals are getting worse.  They used to be tolerable but now are getting out of control.  I believe I may have to buck up and start taking a daily dose of Claritin or something.  I have an appointment with an allergist on Friday that I'm going to keep. 

I bet they will urge me to take allergy shots.  I don't know if I want to commit to something like that.  I used to take my Boss every week.  Most of them go for years.  I don't know if it would be worth it.  What do you gals think?  Anyone here do this?

LMFAO!     I'm gonna tell hubby that is my cure!  He will flip! 

Eat Junk!  LOL that's what you get for being a healthy eater. 
Feel Better.  This seems to be a really bad year for allergy sufferers.  So many people have had sinus problems in the past month or so.

I have also been eating carrots, cucumbers, peppers and potatoes. 

Bananas, oranges, cherries in yogurt, peaches in yogurt, strawberries. 

I haven't had any apples recently but have been eating alot of the above in the past 2 weeks.  I never had a problem like this though but you never know in this awful world of allergies. 

Yikes, Foxy Mama, that looks awful.

I've had chronic hives for about 5 1/2 years now, that wax and wane.  I take Claritin year round for them, but right now it's really not controlling them well at all.  Any place on my body where there's pressure (like under my wedding ring or  bra-band - that the worst ), I'm super-itchy.  I assume for me it's an allergy-cup being full thing.

As for you - I have no idea!  Take cool showers rather than hot (when it's bad, hot really sets them off) and take a 24 hour non-drowsy antihistamine.  Add benadryl at bed time.  And I hope you figure it out soon!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome

some cross reactive pollens/fruits listed here. 

I used to have a really great article about it, but can't find it!  UGH

Birch pollen  (that is, anything in the birch family) is cross-reactive with apple, peach, pear, plums, cherries, etc. etc.

This looks like a lot more than that going on, though.  I hope you can figure out what is causing it, Foxy.   That really looks miserable.   

During pollen season, fruits with skin are off limits for some people.  dh can't eat apples or peaches without clawing his eyes out, for instance.

I know there are lists online how fruits cross-react with pollen.  I tried finding it, but I see only lists regarding OAS and cross-reactivity.

What fruit are you eating? Specifically? Can you list them, maybe we can figure out if there's a tree in bloom that is cross reactive with the fruit.

Ds can't eat any pitted fruits in the spring because of his pollen allergies. It puts him over the top. Maybe this is now the same for you since spring came so early to PA this year.

My chest will get a little like yours but not so wide spread.  Just itchy and break out out of no where.  I get the occasional skeeter bite looking hives on my hands and arms too. My back between my blades is just out of control and very baffling atm.