Chloe Raisbeck, 27 and from Solihull, West Midlands, hasn’t had one piece of fruit or vegetable for more than two decades because of a rare and potentially life-threatening allergy. When she was diagnosed with Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) at the age of seven, Chloe reports the condition has caused her to have a highly abnormal relationship with food and left her in fear of eating.
She started her ordeal in May 2004 when she took a bite out of a peach at school and right away noticed swelling in her lips and an itching throat. When she notified the school nurse, she didn’t think much of her symptoms. “That same week, I had an apple, and that’s when things began to go haywire,” she remembered. “My allergies worsened. I started growing bumps in my mouth and my throat began itching.’
Alerted, Chloe told her mom, Trisha, who sent her to see the doctor. A blood workup showed her to be allergic to a variety of fruits including peaches, apples, nectarines, cherries, and plums. Her reaction intensified with items such as kiwi and almonds, so a referral was made to an allergist.
A Very Rare Condition
By January 2005, Chloe had been officially diagnosed with OAS, an extremely rare condition connected with pollen allergy that is only present in around two percent of the UK population and has the potential to create extreme allergic reactions to some plant foods.
Being informed by my allergist that I could possibly die by consuming one piece of fruit or going into anaphylaxis was frightening,” she said. “I was prescribed an EpiPen and other antihistamines, which was confusing for a seven-year-old.”
Since then, Chloe has been avoiding more than 15 types of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Her allergy list includes bananas, carrots, kiwis, bell peppers, and almonds. Even common healthy foods categorized under the ‘five-a-day’ rule have been off-limits for 20 years. “My allergies came out of nowhere,” she explained. “I was able to eat fruit and vegetables normally with no symptoms. But since taking a bite of that peach, my relationship with food has changed.”
To satisfy her nutritional requirements, Chloe depends on multivitamin tablets and skips possible triggers completely. “If I consume any of my five-a-day, I get puffy lips, a sore throat, and bumps in my mouth,” she said. “I’m fortunate my symptoms aren’t worse, but with every meal, there is always this nagging fear.”
What does Chloe Eat?
Her diet now is comprised mostly of ‘beige foods such as pasta, rice, meat, fish, and dairy. Eating out or going to social gatherings has become complicated. “It’s a mare when people are cooking for me because my condition is a difficult thing to believe,” she said. “It makes me worried that they aren’t going to take it seriously, and I could end up seriously hurt.”
Chloe reports that she frequently checks out ingredients at food stores or at restaurants in order to prevent any incidental exposure. “It’s consumed a lot of my life and it’s also become sort of a phobia,” she confessed. Even in extremely cautious moods, she has requested that her boyfriend brush his teeth after eating items to which she is allergic, purely as a method of avoiding contact reactions during kisses.
In spite of the daily struggle, Chloe is attempting to regain some control over her eating. “I will be allergic to those foods for the rest of my life,” she said. “So I’m working to introduce things back that I’ve been so afraid of eating,” She has started eating raspberries within the last month and looks forward to additional advances. “Within the next couple of years, I want to have more different diets and that I am able to eat more,” she stated. “But for right now, I’m going to do it gradually, one bite at a time,” she added.
