IgE antibodies apple

IgE antibodies apple too high

A value above the cut-off means that you have IgE antibodies against apple: sensitization. That is not the same as an allergy. With hay fever from birch pollen, a positive result often fits oral allergy syndrome: itching, tingling or a burning feeling on the lips, mouth or throat shortly after eating raw apple. According to Thuisarts.nl, these symptoms are not dangerous and go away on their own; heated apple usually causes no symptoms. Hives, abdominal symptoms or shortness of breath after apple fit such a cross-reaction less well; the Dutch medical specialists' guideline (FMS) then always recommends a food challenge, and an allergist can have antibodies against individual apple proteins measured. The level of the value says little about how severe a reaction would be.

IgE antibodies apple too low

A value below the cut-off means that no IgE antibodies against this allergen were found. An IgE-mediated allergy to this allergen is then much less likely, although it is not completely ruled out. Symptoms can also come from another allergen that was not tested, or have a non-allergic cause.

Useful for

With only mild itching or a burning feeling in the mouth after raw apple in someone with hay fever, no testing is needed according to Thuisarts.nl, and you can keep eating apple. The test says more with other or more severe symptoms after apple, such as swelling, hives, abdominal symptoms or shortness of breath, as an addition to the assessment by the doctor. In people who eat apple normally without symptoms, the test adds nothing.

How common is it?

According to Stichting Voedselallergie, 300,000 to 400,000 people in the Netherlands are bothered by an apple allergy, one of the most common forms of food allergy. With a cross-reaction with birch pollen, the symptoms are usually mild. According to Thuisarts.nl, such symptoms occur in older children and adults.

Stichting Voedselallergie and Thuisarts.nl