Eggplant: Itchy Mouthfeel?
Is there something wrong with me? Does anybody else suffer from this problem? Let me back up. Throughout my entire life, I have eaten and enjoyed eggplant. I recall one day at my old apartment, I proposed cooking an eggplant dish with then-roommate Erin. She said she was allergic to eggplant — “It makes my mouth itchy.” Well that’s unfortunate, I thought. Then today I made this baked eggplant, sauteed spinach, fresh mozzarella and sundried tomato crostini, and found myself smacking my mouth afterwards, annoyed by this fuzzy, tingly itchy feel on my tongue.
burned by bruschetta
The eggplant itchy mouthfeel syndrome! Did Erin pass it on to me by co-habitation? Does one acquire it with age or with increased eggplant consumption? Whatever it is, what a total bummer.
I did a little research and found that an eggplant oral allergy was identified by the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. Also, an article purporting that oral allergy syndrome, as it were, may be worsened by the presence of ragweed, which occurs after August 15 — uhh, now. Incidentally, this is also the best time of the year for eggplant! In many stripes and sizes. I know you’re all eating them as I write. Grilled and drizzled with olive oil, battered and fried, roasted and chilled or baba ghanoushed. You cannot resist those pearly teardrops of purpleness. So tell me, all you otherwise eggplant-happy eaters, are you experiencing what I’m experiencing? (Imagine me in pink headband and fringed sleeves: “Are you experienced? Have you ever been experienced (with the itchy oral eggplant syndrome)? Well, I have.”)
Truth be told, the itchy feel wasn’t so unpleasant that I couldn’t go on with my evening and forget about it completely after some drinks. I’d say it lasted a couple of hours. Also, I was drinking white wine along with this dish, and wonder if the alcohol could have possibly agitated whatever chemicals were going on in my mouth or dried out my tongue too much.
itching to attack
Aside: If you’re wondering why these photos look eight times more sophisticated than my usual ones, it’s because I stole my boyfriend’s digital camera to snap them while he was out (and since I left my camera at someone’s house). Ben recently got a new lens, too, and is very excited about having the same camera and lens as “the Smitten Kitchen Lady,” aka Deb. I know — Hooray, finally an upgrade! Well, I don’t know how long that will last. I barely know how to hold the thing, so consider this post a rare visual treat.
August 26th, 2007 at 1:22 am
The pictures look really great. As for the itchiness, I do get that occasionally get that, but it’s never bothered me enough to track the potential allergens. Besides, eggplant is so delicious, who can resist?
August 26th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Ooh, what’d ya borrow? It looks like a macro!
Probably for different reasons, but I get the same reaction from fresh pineapple, and though I like it, I find I swerve around it when its served because I hate the nudgy feeling in my mouth.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:36 am
hm, sounds like the same thing that happens to me after I eat Kiwi. You have developed and allergy my friend. Sucks!
August 26th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
This sometimes happens to me after eating walnuts. Not eggplant, though.
August 26th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
I have that, too. And with strawberries and kiwi. They make my tongue itch. Not enough to stop from eating them.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I used to have that with eggplant, bananas, and some other tropical fruit. One day when I was 25 I had half an avocado and had a severe enough allergic reaaction that I had to go to the hospital. Apparently these minor food allergies can get more severe as you get older so BE CAREFUL! I no longer eat anything that used to make my mouth a little ‘itchy’ or swollen…too dangerous and not worth the discomfort.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:31 am
my friend miranda has this problem unless the eggplant is really well-cooked. have you tried that?
August 27th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Sounds like you have a nightshade problem. I have it too. It isn’t necessarily an allergy — it is a sensitivity issue, kind of like poison ivy.
You’ll probably find that it is worse in younger eggplants, especially when not thoroughly cooked.
Tomatoes are the same way, as are peppers and everything else in the nightshade family.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Definitly an allergy. That’s awful…be careful!
August 27th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I have OAS and have for years. It includes mango, avocado, eggplant, celery. Many people (not me) also have a problem with wine. My allergist says that as long as you take allergy medication before hand, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. Eggplant sort of bugs me, but avocado is just awful. I love avocado, so load up on antihistamenes (sp?) 1/2 an hour before eating them.
August 27th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Eggplant definitely gives me that feeling except when it’s deep fried. Or maybe I just don’t notice it then because my mouth is coated in oil? Ew…. haha. It sounds much nastier typed than it did in my head. (wait, it’s still in my head…) Anyways, be careful with your allergies. I also get this itchy mouth feeling with coconut and a few of my other allergies, though it’s not that bad, you should be wary like Judy said.
PS Beautiful pictures! I want a freaking DSLR >:T My camera is just about to die on me. And it’s not yet 2!
August 29th, 2007 at 12:48 am
They’re called oral allergies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome
September 1st, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Having heard some time ago that during ragweed times certain foods (wine and cantalope) should be avoided ( I don’t have hay fever) I never paid much attention to it. Now having developed hay fever and see the difference it makes avoiding the foods listed on the site you mentioned! Runny nose etc. After the season I plan on trying back some of the foods hopefully with no problems! Thanks for the “heads up”!
September 5th, 2007 at 12:23 am
I’m looking here because I noticed the last couple times I’ve eaten eggplant My throat closes up a bit and I get a bit short of breath. Cough some. Now I’m concerned. I’ve never noticed it before.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:57 am
My mom always salted and soaked the eggplant in water about 15-30 minutes prior to cooking as it draws out something from the eggplant which can cause the itchy mouth (the water will be brown after soaking).
As Nigella Lawson said “When it comes to family, I do what I’m told.”
September 15th, 2007 at 6:41 am
I also have the itchy-mouth problem w/eggplant, fresh pineapple, and kiwi. But not strawberries, or bananas, unless the bananas are really unripe.
I have read that if you gently salt and drain the eggplant prior to cooking it, it reduces the itchy mouthfeel thing. Also, if I eat canned pineapple, it doesn’t happen. But who wants to eat canned pineapple?
September 18th, 2007 at 10:56 am
My daughter wouldn’t eat eggplant if I threatened her with her life!!! However, she gets the itchy mouth with ALL fresh fruits. The first time she had a reaction was to fresh lemonade, I thought something just went down wrong but she would never drink fresh lemonade again. Then it was apples, she LOVES apples, now they make her mouth itch. Now it’s every fresh fruit she tries to eat, including grapes. She quit eating carrots too, but never complained that they made her mouth itch . . . hmmm.? She can eat any fruit if it’s been cooked or canned (processed). Now, she won’t eat candy bars or homemade fudge with pecans or any nut aside from almonds . . . almonds don’t make her mouth itch she says. Well, the other day, we went into a Five Guys Burgers & Fries (she’d never been). For those of you unfamiliar with Five Guys, they have boxes of fresh peanuts (in the shell) for their customers to snack on while their food is prepared. So, we (my husband and I) sit down to munch on peanuts while we wait, and she gets a whiff of them (not sure if I breathed in her direction or if a breeze blew some of the dust her way) and she started coughing . . . not bad and there was no other reaction BUT, with everything else she’s developed “itchiness” from, it terrifies me that she’s going to so into anaphalactic shock some time when I’m not expecting it. I’m making her an appointment with an allergist.
Oh, I don’t really like eggplant but the pics sure make it look tempting . . . might have to try it again sometime.
September 18th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I have had the above symptoms for about 10 years now. Yesyerday I ate eggplant concealed in a sandwich and not only did my throat feel constricted and scratchy, but my hearing seemed to fail…it sounded like I was underwater for most of the day… weird.
October 9th, 2007 at 10:38 am
[...] find it no coincidence that so many cultures like to tame eggplant by beating them to a pulp. My run-in with not-so-well-cooked eggplant earlier this summer has put me off the poisonous plants for a [...]
October 9th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I never knew so many people had this problem; I thought I was weird because my tongue hurt and my ears itch sometimes when I eat eggplant or cantalope. I feel so much better now!
October 12th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
This is quite a surprise to find so many people with these symptoms, afterall everyone I know pulls a strange face at me when I list the healthy foods I am allergic to. Sucks – strawberries, apples, kiwi, banana, plums, nuts, carrots, cherry tomatoes. My anxiety has gone through the roof – I am paranoid about anaphalaxia to the point of getting an epi pen recently and I have an appointment with an allergist next month. Why?! Why me? I just want the allergist to tell me that I do have oral allergies but not anaphalaxis. I want to get to the bottom of this and am going to look into naturopathy. If I get anywhere with wiping out these allergies I will let you all know.
October 18th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I’m happy to know I’m not alone. The only other food sensitivity I have that I know of is to ginger root. Gourmet ginger ale would probably kill me. Cheap ginger ale and gingersnaps make me itch. I have also broken out in hives. Does anyone else have this? I’ve been thinking for a long time about going to an allergist and now that I have a little one, I may just do it for peace of mind.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:07 am
I have that same Itchy Feeling it sucks for me becuz I GET IT OFF PRACTICALLY EVERY SINGLE FRUIT!!!! Grapes,kiwi,apples,oranges,strawberries, i get the itchy feeling..Only can foods do it for me…I still eat the fresh fruits on occasions even tho i no wat will happen its just so good
December 17th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
It’s not an allergy but a sensitivity/intolerance to either the chemicals in the food or the ragweed. Without getting too technical, an allergy will throw you into anaphylatic shock and can kill you whereas an intolerance is uncomfortable and more of a lifestyle challenge. Sort of like consuming less, eh?
Very beautiful photos – I might make them, as eggplants are in season down under, but will cook them a little longer as I, too, have the problem with nightshades.
December 18th, 2007 at 2:39 am
A year or two ago, I ate half an apple. It gave me an itchy, painful mouth and ears plus tingly lips, and then, within 20 minutes, brought on asthma. Apples had never been a problem for me before. After a scratch test, an allergist told me, “My, you do have a reaction to apples!” Last week, I reacted in the same way to small pear. Now, as I read the other comments, I worry this will broaden to include still more foods!
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:25 am
all my life I thought that everyone had this affliction! I happened to mention it in passing to a friend last year and she thought I was crazy. this is when I knew that I must have an allergy!
February 25th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
The last couple times Ive eaten eggplant I noticed I started coughing. Tonight I had eggplant and I couldnt stop coughing. I had to stop eating it and throw it away!
March 2nd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I’m itching while I type. Was worried cos i’m not an allergy sufferer at all so googled immediately. I roasted up some eggplants just now and became itchy. I remembered a friend saying they’re poisonous if you don’t soak in salty water. Guess that’s why it’s taken all these years to cook them myself! How long till the itchiness goes away?
March 14th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I get a sore mouth from eggplant, banana, walnuts, strawberries and watermelon. I’m glad to see other people have this problem and I’m not imagining it.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Oh and pineapple also gives me the same reaction. I am just cooking eggplant now and testing to see if it makes my mouth hurt (which it is) so I now think it’s more than just cooking it the right way–it’s been roasting for 40 minutes now and is good and soft and still causing my mouth to sting.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
GREAT NEWS!!!
I am cured:
I wrote a few entries up that I had oral allergy syndrome. Well, I went to the allergist and my allergy to Birch Bark Pollen was confirmed and responsible for the large majority of the foods I couldn’t eat. A latex allergy was responsible for the kiwi fruit, bananas, hazelnut and avocado reactions.
Through a friend I was told about NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique)so went to see a NAET Practitioner in January 2008, Jocelyn DeVillers, who muscle tested me and we found that I had a weak muscle response to most items she tested. One by one we have used NAET to treat each item. After 9 natural treatments I have overcome so many more allergies than just the 9 we treated. After the sugar treatment (lactose is a sugar too) I cleared for absolutely every allergy to a natural substance! We then did a chemical treatment and now we are moving onto emotional sensitivites. I have learnt that emotion plays a great role in the development of allergies – traumatic experiences etc. I ate bananas all week for the first time in 6 1/2 years! I ate at Pizza Hut for my sons birthday the day after learning I was clear. I have so much energy now.
Good luck to everyone – clear your allergies. http://www.naet.com
Learn alot about yourself in the process.
Alex
March 28th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
…What I meant by a “chemical treatment” is that we treated my allergy to chemicals.
June 27th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I’ve had the same problem with eggplant and sour fresh fruit..there is a solution to the eggplant one as far as I know. If you salt it well and drain it before cooking, and if roasting it (as I do for baba ghanoush), leave the roasted peeled eggplant in a strainer to drain off, the bitters drain away..it helps take the itch away!
July 4th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I never had food allergies when I was young, but ate some sliced up strawberries on my cereal today and my throat felt really itchy as well as my eyes. That’s a new one for me. I hope I don’t get related allergies.
My intestines react violently to small amounts of uncooked and unprocessed onion. It’s like eating a fast-acting laxative since everything will be out the other side within about 60 to 90 minutes. I never had a problem until I was around 25, but my dad always avoided onions and my older brother warned me about what was coming with respect to onions. Luckily for me, small to moderate amounts of processed onions don’t make me react. Processed can mean thoroughly cooked, powdered, pickled or soaked in salsa (especially cooked salsas). I love onions, but it’s surprising how hard they are to avoid when eating out and people just think you’re being “picky” when you tell them to leave them out and often don’t follow the instructions and they have to be picked out of the food.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
i too hate that itchy feeling having eaten it and loved it most of my life. I have found that soaking it does help but even more so younger, smaller eggplants are better. for me the allergy is based on the seeds and the chemicals in them so younger eggplant have less seeds making them easier to consume. While the itchy mouth does not overly bother me, I grow concerned.With many allergies, overtime a serious reaction can develop. Hope this helps.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I realize this post is rather old, but I found this because I’m currently having these symptoms. Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, and I thought it was normal to have a light tingling itch. I never consumed a lot of it before, but I did tonight…
Basically my left sinuses itch like hell right now. This was 30 minutes after I ate…It began on the left roof of my gums, then down my throat. My left nostril started to itch a bit and so did the inside of my ear. I thought I was being delirious and scratched away the itches with my gums until I realized I could really be allergic to something.
I told my parents and I tried to figure out what I could be allergic to…I mentioned about how eating eggplants kind of made me a little itchy all these years and they were confused because they don’t experience it. So I kind of narrowed it down from there. I asked my parents keep an eye on me in case anything worsens, but using my sinus rinse kit helped alot.
I was always proud that I was never allergic to anything. Turns out something I thought was normal was an allergy all this time. Now I’ll rethink any slight reaction to food I may have. I think I get this with cantaloupe and honeydew too.
Too bad, I really love my eggplant dishes too! I’m now afraid this reaction will worsen with age…
August 14th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Thank you for legitimizing my eggplant allergy! My mouth feels like it’s been cut up and such when I eat it. Thanks
August 24th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I just read this blog when I decided to find out if allergy to eggplant was limited to me. I read all of the entries on the blog and thought I should share my recent experience too. I have had an allergy to eggplant for over 20 years. It started with a scratchy throat. I would eat eggplant which I love and afterwards my throat would be bother me but never enough to stop my eating eggplant. Over the years it worsened. I began to cough and then cough more with every enjoyed dish. Rattatouie was one of my favorites. About 15 years ago I had baba gnoush and began coughing so uncontrollably that tears were streaming down my face and I had great difficulty breathing. Since then I have avoided eggplant, making sure I don’t eat things that may be in disguise, always telling restaurants that I have a severe allergy, etc. and have been able to avoid a worse reaction. Until, this past Thursday when I had a late afternoon lunch with a friend in Montreal. It had eggplant (a tiny thin slice along with a similar looking piece of zuchinni that had been lightly cooked). I noticed it after I had moved my food around a bit and saw that it looked somewhat darker than the other piece of vegetable. I removed it from my plate and ate the salad, including the zuchinni. Big mistake. The salad and the zuchinni had touched the eggplant and that is all it took–just the slightest bit can cause a disaster if you have a bad allergy to it and each time it gets worse. I began to show symptoms that evening at dinner but thought it was mosquitoes since we were eating outside. Later that night I got up because by lower bottom was painfully hot. I noticed that I had large areas of swollen welts and by morning my upper legs front and back, arms, back stomach, and most other areas other than the lower legs were the same–large red burning and itching areas of skin. I took Benadryl and my husband and I began our trip home to the USA in our RV hoping to check out some of the parks and area of 1000 islands in Canada and New York. We found a lovely park and had a good evening–with my discomfort continuing. That night I noticed my upper lip was beginning to swell on the right side. With more Benadryl it didn’t seem to stop. We had breakfast and packed up deciding that we needed to get to a pharmacy and see if they could help. They couldn’t–I was already doing everything they could help me with and to no avail at this point. The pharmacist told me to get to a hospital quickly for treatment. He gave us directions to the hospital about half hour away. I was already in distress when we stopped at the pharmacy. When we got to the hospital I was going into anaphalatic shock. The hospital triaged me immediagely–heart monitor, oxygen, and a drip of epenephrine and then prednisone. Within half hour the swelling of the lips had stopped and the itching was subsiding. They watched me for three hours to be sure there was not a return of the symptoms. The doctor gave me a prescription to take for the next three days of prednisone to prevent recurring symptoms. He told me if I had a relapse to get to a hospital immediately. This is Sunday evening. I still have swelling, the skin looks like I have been burned and the bad botox job that appeared in the lips is almost gone with some swelling still on the face and around the eyes. I am giving you the details because the reaction was not immediate–over days and with Benadryl it worsened. Now I will be even more careful. For me this is a death notice. It takes very little to set this off when you have a severe allergy and many of you seem to be moving in that direction. Be warned. Take it seriously and don’t play around with it. If you have any symptoms stop eating eggplant. I know of no method of preparation that will prevent this in the cooking of eggplant, old or young eggplant or small or large. Like those with peanut and other nut allergies it is a deadly food for us.
Good luck to all of you. Find another food and learn to like it just as much.
September 15th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I’m not sure if this will help anyone, but I only realized my eggplant allergy when I ate it in a restaurant. My mom makes it all the time and one day I put together that in the restaurant they leave the skin on, but my mom takes it all off (she just says that’s the way her mom did it). My allergy isn’t to the whole eggplant, but to the purple skin. If I’m not careful and get a bit of that in my cooking, it feels like my lips are burning and my tongue and cheeks itch considerably.
Maybe someone else can benefit from slicing off the rind? It’s not too tough with a sharp enough knife.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I’m glad I found this blog. I didn’t know there could be such a thing as allergy to eggplants! My tongue doesn’t get all bumpy and itchy every time I eat eggplant, so I wonder if I’m only allergic to certain parts or certain types of eggplants. As far as I recall, I’ve never got that itchy feeling with japanese eggplants. Most of the time, I don’t get it at home (where I take the skin off and wash well),… so maybe it’s the skin, I don’t know! I’ll have to start paying attention.
I get the same annoying feeling with certain types of blue cheese. But I’ve never had any bad symptoms besides the bumby itchy tongue, which doesn’t last more than an hour or so.
Thanks for all the info. I’m glad I got an answer for my symptoms.
September 28th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I don’t get an itchy mouthfeel, my symptom is after eating the eggplant skin (which i love) about 30 minutes later I get a couple painful swelled sores on the side edge of my tongue towards the back of my mouth. They’re very painful for about 4 hours then disappear. I’ve noticed it only happens when I eat the eggplant skin, not the flesh.
October 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
About 5 years ago I went to an Italian restaurant and ordered an eggplant with garlic and oil entree. After eating 1/4 of it, I suddenly felt this discomfort in my tongue. I had to stop eating and push the eggplant dish aside. I felt like my tongue got scorched. All through my life I have always felt a bit of itchiness in my tongue when eating eggplant. Not so much the Asian type but the big Italian eggplant. Ever since then I have lost my ability to eat spicy/hot food. I hate it so much since I am a foodie!
I wish I can regain my ability to enjoy spicy foods!!!!
I am waiting for one day to regain my ability to enjoy spicy food!!!
December 24th, 2008 at 12:39 am
I just googled itchy mouth after eating eggplant, and am glad to find I’m not the only one. I just made a yummy dish and not only did my mouth get itchy and burn, but a tiny paper cut I had on my hand was killing me after slicing the eggplant. I have never had this before, but tonight I was lazy and didn’t soak in salted water first – I just peeled, sliced and grilled – it was fully cooked so I really think that soaking is the key – and wear gloves if you have ever had a problem and have a cut.
Strange thing about the night veggies, I just had a rheumatologist tell me to stay away from them because I have had swelling/pain in my hand joints. I tested negative for arthritis, but my joints are so swollen it looks like I have it. He said night veggies can cause that too, so be careful if you have the itch, it can worsen to painful/ugly joints – my hands look like a little old ladies knobby hands and I am only 39, though so far no other joints have been affected. Actually I was stunned that I tested negative for arthritis everyone who looked at my hands thought I had it. I will now have to see if eating the eggplant tonight makes my hands hurt in the near future. Think I will try to skip it or take a benadryl before hand if I simply can’t resist.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Last night I had a weird reaction to a raw unpeeled carrot (well it was partially peeled). It was a pretty big carrot and I was eating the whole thing and as I got to the stem end my tongue started burning as if I had eaten a hot pepper. I drank milk to reduce the burning and this faded away after about 40 minutes. But then I developed a pretty severe sore throat, which I still have today. I was wondering if there might have been pesticide on the top end of the carrot, but after reading this, maybe it was an allergic reaction. I have never had a reaction to any food before in my life.
January 15th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
OMG! The exact same thing happened to me last night. In addition, my top lip began to swell. Those collagen lip injecting woman would have been super jealous of my pouty mouth….
February 15th, 2009 at 4:11 am
the itchy thing only happens when i eat raw (or lightly cooked) eggplant. when it is fully cooked(baked or fried) i don’t have that experience. this also happens with almonds. when i soak them i can eat them, otherwise i have a reaction. i can also eat young coconut, but not mature ones. i have sooo many food issues.
February 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I first discovered my allergy to eggplant when I became aware that I had a slight shortness of breath and very slight tightness in my chest whenever I had eaten it. I thought, hmm weird. I should have taken it seriously since on an outing to a wonderful Greek restaurant the babaghanouge caused my gums, soft palette, and throat to swell and I was very short of breath. It scared me but, subsided so fast that I did not freak out too bad. Now I just look longingly at the beautiful eggplant and try to remind myself, “oh well, it doesn’t have any nutrition, anyway.”
March 5th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I´ve lots of food reactions. In case of eggplants it´s just to start my asthma 24h long. Never touch them again.
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I don’t seem to have allergies, but yes, eggplant often makes my mouth sore. So do walnuts sometimes and not completely ripe bananas. I notice in the posts that this combination is not unusual. Maybe there’s an enzyme present that sometimes can affect some people.
March 25th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I looked up eggplant allergy just now because after my dinner of baked eggplant the bottom of my feet itched, then my neck and shoulders a lot-now my legs. Spreading! I never heard of being allergic to eggplant. I’ll soak next time.
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
No one has mentioned this one yet – but when sometimes eat eggplant I get a feeling of impeding doom and a heaviness on my shoulders- so then I stop eating. But there are other times when I eat eggplant I’m totally fine. Someone told me once that there are female eggplants and male eggplants and I’m reacting to one. I don’t remember which one – so I go on ordering and eating eggplant. But now when I encounter the ‘bad’ eggplant, I switch plates with my husband.
May 6th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I used to get the itchy mouth all through childhood whenever I ate eggplant. My sister experienced it as well. Not with any other fruit or veggie though. As an adultThe last time i tried eggplant, after not havingit for a long time, I got the itchy mouth and huge hives inside my mouth on my cheeks and tongue.
I am afraid to eat it now… next time my throat could close up.
May 13th, 2009 at 8:04 am
whaaat! female and male eggplants?! eggplant is a favorite food of mine but sometimes i do get hives, usually when the eggplant is sort of old and there are more seeds in it. i should probably stop eating it but i hear when one is allergic to a food one can end up craving it for the “high”. insane!
June 8th, 2009 at 1:05 am
WOW! I just started to eat eggplant and I didn’t really pay close attention but after eating it a couple times the inside of my mouth was really itchy. I still didn’t put much thought into because I have never had a reaction to anything EVER…However I was just eating eggplant and it happend again, so I googled it and here I am! I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one! It kinda sucks because I just started to eat it and of course-I love it…I’m sure I’ll eat it here and there. However I’m really not sure if thats safe???? Guess I’ll talk to my doctor.
June 15th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I thought I didn’t have any allergies, except maybe to rockmelon (cantalope) when i get this weird indigestion/gastro reaction like my intestine can’t digest it…. but just tonight I have had my second reaction to eggplant in a couple of days and completely different to anything anyone has mentioned on here. My mouth imediately starts to water, my heart races and I feel like I am going to throw up. Drinking some water seemed to help tonight and making myself stay calm also. It passes in a matter of minutes. Tonight I ate baba ganoush bought from a shop and last time it was eggplant I roasted well myself. I have also realised that the sore mouth I get sometimes might be related to allergies so I will have to record when I get that in the future.
July 12th, 2009 at 4:59 am
I’ve had a rather substantial reaction to eggplant ever since I can remember: I’ve eaten it all my life and I’ve always had a reaction to some degree or other. My mom used to fry breaded eggplant for our family when I was a kid: I LOVED it, but my mouth would invariably feel sore afterwards. I had some great baba ganoush (eggplant tahini) the other night, which left painful welts on my tongue and inside my mouth, but damn, it was delicious! So I just have to partake of eggplant in moderation, because it WILL hurt if I eat a lot of it at once.
Depending on the way the eggplant’s prepared, the reaction can be more than just localized orally: I once had some eggplant parmesan and it actually irritated me on its way down my esophagus, so much so that I almost felt like I was going to regurgitate, but I managed to keep it down.
So, when it comes to eggplant consumption, I must quote Nietzsche: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” (Let’s hope.)
July 21st, 2009 at 12:19 am
just ate A cherry. im dying. thats why im on here. apparently we should start a club. most fruits, some vegetables, give me the itchy mouth/ears. if i eat a lot, it makes my throat close up and i have reduced hearing, as well as the itchy turns into burning. i was told it was ragweed allergys and was given medication. its getting to the point RIGHT NOW, that im considering going to the ER, and i had 1 cherry. i really hate this.
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 am
that happens to me to only cause u have an allergic reaction to which means u r allergic to egg plant
July 27th, 2009 at 2:33 am
I just got done eating a Kiwi and a bad case of the itchy and my throat felt tight. So I picked up the computer to see, what if any symptoms were on the net. So this helped a little. I was around 12 when I just couldn’t eat eggplant anymore. My mouth felt like it was on fire. When I was about 20 I couldn’t eat pineapple and now I’m almost 30 and one Kiwi almost closed my throat completely. But what didn’t help is some of the things that bather some of you doesn’t even effect me.
August 11th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
My mom was allergic to eggplant and now at 59 yo, I have just become allergic to it. I was enjoying some Japanese eggplant yesterday that I had baked with olive oil and Parmesan, when I started coughing and could not stop. This morning I had terrible sinus problems. Guess I will not be eating anymore eggplant but I love it. Didn’t know allergies were passed down.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:03 am
[...] The eggplant is a peculiar bird in the nighshade vegetable family; unlike tomatoes, another member, it needs to be cooked. I wouldn’t recommend skimping on this procedure either, lest you should detect the bothersome “itchy mouth syndrome.” [...]
October 4th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I love the Smitten Kitchen lady’s pictures, they’re awesome! I have yet to try any of her recipes.
On the topic, I was Googling and found your post, as well as this one: http://thereses-rose-garden.blogspot.com/2006/09/how-to-prepare-eggplants.html
It talks about how there’s a chemical called solanine in eggplant and other nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, etc.) but it’s much more prevalent in eggplant, especially eggplant that isn’t fully ripe.. Apparently you should salt it and rinse off the salt and then cook it really really well until it’s mushy. The more you cook it, the less solanine remains. I notice I get itchy mouth or upset stomach after eating eggplant when I make it myself (sometimes) but if I have it at a restaurant that doesn’t happen. I’m pretty sure it’s a matter of eating them undercooked.
She also suggests removing the peel but I think nature intended us to eat the peel… More fibre, and it’s so darn yummy (that’s the best part!).
March 8th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
I know this was an old posting but reading everyones examples of eggplant allergic reactions have been very helpful. My husband resently had a severe reaction to something he ate at a catered event. He had a piece of grilled eggplant and imediatly his tongue began to swell he suddenly got itchy all over. I asked the doorman to run to the pharmacy a block a way to get some Benadryl gel tablets. My husband could barely swallow them. He became light headed and the doorman called an ambulance. At the hospital the doctors said the benadryl tablets may have saved his life and was amazed that I new what he needed. They gave him more ant-histimines kept him over night then released him, but then he started having severe diarreha and nasuea, which I guess is probably the delayed response to the attack. After 3 days in bed, weak, dehydrated and tired, he is still taking benadryl, prednisone, zantax, and now we have added some good digestve bacteria to his list of meds.This is not to taken lightly, we will look very closely to everthing in the night shade family along with everything else we both eat. He has never been known to be allergic to anything, but I have had asthma, eczema, and several allergies to inhalents and pollens that I have pretty much over come through allergy shots and controlling with ani-histimins.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
i LOVE eggplant, but recently i think i’ve figured out i’m allergic to it (so i’m guessing, which is how i came across this article). Every time i eat it now, it burns my mouth, literally, my skin in the top of my mouth peels off ALWAYS. Its not that i’m eating it hot, I could be eating it right out of the fridge and it will do that. I’m not allergic to anything, but i guess theres a first for everything.
May 13th, 2010 at 8:44 am
As a child I had no symptoms of eggplant alergies. I did not eat it often, but I really enjoyed the eggplant that my grandmother served. I noticed when I was in my mid 30′s that about four hours after eating eggplant my stomach would become terribly bloated and I would eventually throw up several times. I have never had any itching or mouth burning, but the stomach discomfort is more than I can take and I will not eat eggplant again.
June 28th, 2010 at 12:17 am
[...] out I’m not alone on the itchy eggplant thing. Google (not my mom) pointed me to this blog, NotEatingOutinNY.com, where the blogger talks about experiencing the same [...]
August 27th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
lord have mercy. i had fried eggplant for dinner tonight and now my tongue is sore on the sides. it’s been going on for years but i never put two and two together until now. on top of that, i have psoriasis which is irritated by nightshades. should have listened to my doc. it’s such a shame. i love eggplant.
September 30th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Just now I had my first eggplant, and I’ve got an itchy mouth – I plan on avoiding eggplant from now on. That’s because when I was a kid, I always got an itchy mouth from kiwi and it got a bit worse, so I did my best to avoid them, but then when I was a teenager I figured it must have been a kid thing, so I ate a whole kiwi at a friend’s house. Long story short, I couldn’t stop vomiting, had trouble breathing, and was taken to hospital by ambulance. I’m not saying this would happen to everyone, but I think allergies generally worsen with random exposure. I prefer squash to eggplants anyhow!
November 16th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Since my athletic days during high school I have been rushed to the hospital with various and mysterious food allergies. My allergist worried that I wouldn’t make it through life, actually, since it was so hard to pinpoint the foods which I was having problems with! Usually it was a combination of acidic foods combined with exercise, such as lemonade & parsley. The worst time was during a college trip to Mombassa, a coastal town in Kenya. I had been body surfing and swallowing salt water, then ate mango. My professor had insisted he keep my epi-pens with him in his emergency kit, only to find that he left the kit at our last hotel hundreds of miles away. I had to wait several hours for a doctor to travel to this remote area and treat me in my hotel room. My allergist was almost right! I cannot even peel a mango for my daughter without it starting on my hands and ending up in the ER. It is so bad (at age 53 now) that I have been instructed to call the paramedics rather than to try to get myself to treatment after using my epi-pen. 5 years ago I ate a dip containing parsley at an Argentenan restaurant while sipping wine and waiting for my dinner. There I was having to disrupt everyone’s dinner to get me to ER, and of course my friends preferred to save my life than to wait until they finished eating! I have found these events always occur when I’m out, never at home! Certain foods bother me with just a sore tongue & lips…pineapple is one. Eggplant is my latest, and for the first time ever, I have reacted with only swollen and red eyes/skin. It didn’t hit my throat. My friend had cooked a dish containing many ingredients including parsley, eggplant and wine. I don’t always have problems with these, but have decided to completely eliminate from my diet. My allergist is at a medical meeting and called me today to prescribe the methylprednisone dose pack. I would like to find a comprehensive test to determine whether there is a common denominator, such as sulfites. My story concurs that these allergies just keep getting worse in life. Please be careful!
December 20th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Oh man! I realize this is a 3.5-year-old article, but I just googled “eggplant allergy” because I suffer from the *same exact thing,* and this article came up! I only started feeling said symptoms as a young adult (having eaten it a lot growing up). So happy to know I’m not the only one.. but so sad for us eggplant lovers.
Roasted, fried, Baba ghannoush-ified… I have submitted to just dealing with the itchy sensation for the rest of my days, because eggplant is just too damn tasty. Cheers!
January 7th, 2011 at 9:36 pm
wow i thought i was the only unfortunate one. wow. my lips always feel tingly like they swelled up to the size of the eggplant, but when i check it hasnt. its just that tingly itchy feeling. i was gonna stop eating it altogether but i cant resist as you all have said. its an excellent substitute to meat on a diet and it sooo good and filling. i hv found so many ways to make it. well as long as its not gonna kill me, i guess i can live with the itchy tingly plump lip feel.
January 8th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
I have sensitivities to a variety of foods, including raw celery – but when it is cooked, I don’t react. I’m going to try salting the eggplant, rinsing it and drying it with paper towels before roasting it for the recipe I plan to use. Here’s hoping!
January 15th, 2011 at 5:35 am
Well, not sure if this will help anyone, but I sliced the eggplant lengthwise – and was getting hives on my hands just handling it. I kept washing my hands, but I really hoped to get this to work. I then salted each side of each slice, then let it sit for about an hour (longer than I read about anywhere, but I was anxious to eat it without a reaction!) There was a lot of liguid, which I hoped was a good sign. I then rinsed it well, patted them dry and roasted them, then I peeled them – and tasted the peel. It was delicious, but my lip began to tickle, so I quickly rinsed my mouth, and baked them longer. I then peeled the remainder of the eggplant, and used the flesh in the recipe. I had a hard time resisting the peel (make that ‘I did not resist the peel’), which I definitely reacted to – am not sure if the tickle was just from that, but the main course contained the peeled, roasted and then baked eggplant. I plan to try one more time (later), without eating any peel to see if I react, my experiment was loused up by even attempting the peel, but my hope is that the nutrients from it were baked into the eggplant (the reason why I never peel potatoes before baking them first as well). If I remember, I’ll try to post the results of the next round, which won’t be for a few weeks at least. Lesson learned – don’t even think about eating that absolutely delicious peel. I must say, though, the eggplant dish was a hit!
February 26th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
OMG… I have it too!… I just started noticing it too…
But these responses have been helpful.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
I get it too. Eggplant, kiwi, most skin-on apples (especially Fuji,) ripe bananas, and most nuts and seeds. I have the same reaction with very mature and raw cheeses.
I cannot eat walnuts, peanuts, pecans or brazil nuts at all– the reaction is too bad with those ones.
But I keep eating, despite the reactions. If I’m having a very special meal I’ll have one 25mg benadryl before just in case. I have an epi-pen too but have never used it. I find fizzy drinks and gargling ASAP help alleviate the reaction after nuts.
I’m a foodie, what else can I do!
March 14th, 2011 at 11:37 am
I have an eggplant allergy that I have had all my life. I’m in my early 40′s now, and have always loved fried eggplant. It started out that the roof of my mouth would itch. Now, I can’t eat it at all because it swells up and I get a huge blister that covered the entire roof of my mouth and filled the entire area between my teeth with a water blister. It finally burst and that was extremely gross. I’m lucky it didn’t swell up my throat. If you have a reaction, please stop eating the food you are allergic too, because you never know when it might be more serious and stop you from breathing. I no longer eat eggplant after that incident.
April 20th, 2011 at 10:19 am
Two ways to avoid eggplant “allergy”
Actually I don’t know if it’s really an allergy, but I get the same itchy feeling in my mouth after eating eggplant. If you are cooking at home, one thing that usually helps is to soak the cut eggplant in salt water, then rinse, drain and dry before cooking.
In my case, at least, I NEVER get that itchiness from Asian eggplant, which is elongated and sometimes lighter in color than regular European/American eggplant(photo here: http://yaplog.jp/hanenomura/image/183/276). Look for it in Asian groceries.
April 21st, 2011 at 6:02 pm
I had the reaction you’re describing last time I ate a persimmon and I thought I might have developed an allergy so never at them again. For several years I’ve had a slight stinging sensation in my bronchiol area (similar to early stage asthma attack) whenever I ate eggplant and I pretty much ignored it, but last time I ate eggplant I had that sensation but much worse and could hardly breathe for a little while. Sadly I will not try it again as much as I love eggplant!
July 7th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
wow! and I thought I was the only person who feels this odd itchy tingly mouthfeel! I never thought it was an allergy, I actually just figured that was how it tasted until I saw this! HAHA! to my surprise. BUT I eat it anyhow and it is not really that serious, I have other severe allergies to foods that break me into hives, enhance my asthma Etc. all the eggplant ever does it feel tingly in the mouth for a short time.
July 17th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Wow. I just Googled this because I was getting that feel too with eggplant. I get it with pecans, walnuts, and pinenuts too. I just hate it, because I just discovered that I LOVE eggplant!
August 24th, 2011 at 6:08 am
Thanks Cathy for writing this almost 4 years ago. I found your blog by searching Bing for kiwi fruit and eggplant sensitivity (plus, I am sensitive to avocados). I’m not too fond of those because of the itchy irritating feel they give my mouth, but I don’t get any other symptoms. I have no known allergies to other foods or medicines. I understand that it might be a Latex Food Allergy, so it must be food only as I have no problem using latex gloves while working.
August 31st, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Wow, have I got lots of company!
Yes, salting and pressing out the extra liquid makes it MUCH easier for me to enjoy eggplant — but I still have to do so in moderation.
And my tongue, like Steve’s, breaks out into little bumps that HURT. Not just the itchiness some of you luckier folks get. Been like that all my life.
What else trips it? Stale walnuts (but not fresh ones), blue cheese, and sometimes bluefish or anchovies. Runs in the family — mom and my sister have it, too. Waiting to see if the young nephews got “lucky”
Thank you for this thread!
August 31st, 2011 at 2:56 pm
PS:
eating sugar calms it down — a spoonful of jam or something such. No, it’s not just an excuse to get dessert early, it really helps!
September 6th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
I had asian eggplant for lunch yesterday leftovers today and got the itchy mouthfeel. I had large round eggplant as a pizza topping for dinner last night and did not have the itchy mouthfeel> I’m convinced it has something to do with the maturity and/or the preparation.
September 19th, 2011 at 10:17 am
i get the itchy throat from plums, pears and apples. the last time i ate an apple, my throat closed up and i got welts all over my body. after reading thru the posts and seeing the common thread throughout them. it seems to me that there is some pesticide or fertilizer or wax being used on these fruits that may be what we are reacting to. to me that seems to be an “allergy to the pesticide”, but we shouldn’t be eating pesticides anyway, since if it is meant to kill an insect,we would certainly have a reaction to it. whether we can truly wash or soak it off the fruit i don’t know. but it seems by the above posts, that some methods of soaking or cooking have helped some. i do not have this problem with anything that has skin, such as banana, orange, mango. it doesn’t happen with every apple i eat, but i have stayed away from them till i can figure this out.
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:51 am
Thanks for the article! I was just googling why my tongue tingled after eating eggplant and came across this article. I too have never had a reaction to eggplant and love eating it very much! I don’t have any food allergies at all but I am allergic to certain pollens, including Goldenrod!!! Bingo! I also found a website touching on the pollen subject that the eggplant is harvested when goldenrod is in full blion and one has a slight reaction. I actually thought at lunch when I was chowing on my Eggplant parmagian it was either the wine doing it or the hot cappuccino from earlier and I just now noticed. However I had the delicious left overs for dinner w/o wine or coffee and same reaction the instant my tongue hit the tasty eggplant! I guess I must be aware that after mid august, I may get a golden rod pollen reaction from local cooked eggplants. It’s still totally worth it!!! I also read how the more you intake little by little on something you may be mildly allergic too, the less your reactions over time until they diminish into nothing. We have tested this theory on my boyfriend who has oral allergies to fresh fruits/veggies (the alum under the skin) and with little increases each day his reactions have almost completely gone away. Before, fresh guacamole would make him puffy and itchy for the rest of the day. Now he can get through a whole bowl without any problems.
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January 23rd, 2012 at 11:58 pm
That same thing happens to me, except it’s when I eat cantaloupe and sometimes kiwi. My tongue/mouth feels itchy and my throat feels… dry? When I ate cantaloupe and kiwis when I was little, this never happened until… 2,3,4 years ago? I had an allergy test about 3 years ago, and those two things didn’t show up that I was allergic to.
February 10th, 2012 at 1:47 am
I’m not allergic to eggplant. But I am SEVERELY ALLERGIC to SOLANINE found (in the night shade family) in EGGPLANT. The Higher the amount the Worse my reaction gets. I have NO REACTION to eggplant if no Solanine is present. When “Solanine is Present” I “Touch” it and break out into rash. When I “Taste” it my mouth burns and itches with a metallic taste. Then when I “Ingest” it (A Very Small piece), I get instant nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diahrrea, headache, dialated pupils, dizzy and cronic sweating to the point where I’d get hospitalized!!
February 26th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
I like brinjal, but after eating the brinjal, starts the Itching on my face and other parts arms, fingers etc.. and some irritations in the throat. I was so horrified. does brinjal is allergic vegetable?
May 5th, 2012 at 5:08 am
I think I’m only allergic to the seeds in eggplant? I make a baked ziti w/eggplant where I roast it and then scoop most of the seeds out— but if I just have an eggplant sandwich roasting them and not removing the seeds my mouth feels bad
but then again, I can have eggplant cooked other ways and I’m fine? Maybe it’s just a certain kind that does it?!
Oddly enough it happens with bananas that are underripe or overripe but not perfectly ripe? Weird.
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