A Cases of Near-fatal Anaphylaxis: Parsley "Over-use" as an Herbal Remedy.

The use of herbal products in patients with allergic diseases is a special problem and still controversial. But, many people often use herbs to maintain good health. The patients use self-prescribed remedies as medications but do not inform their physicians about herbal use. Unfortunately, some herbal self-medications may have unexpected effects and interactions which may lead to fatal complications. In this report, we describe a female patient who suffered near-fatal anaphylaxis to parsley.

[Effect of fried bacon and parsley sauce on gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy old boys footballer]. / Effekt af stegt flæsk med persillesovs på mave-tarm-symptomer hos raske oldboysfodboldspillere.

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge of the importance of diet on gastrointestinal function and symptoms is generally poorly. In recent years, The New Nordic Food Culture is suggested to have favourable effects. Unfortunally there are huge waiting lists at the most popular restaurants, so we investigated the more traditional "Nordic kitchen". There are no previous studies concerning intake of fried bacon and parsley sauce (FBPS) in healthy middle-aged footballers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Non-blinded, non-randomized, crossover study with a questionnaire survey of 18 healthy old boys footballers before and after FBPS intake. Ten players responded to the questionnaire, including one who was not exposed to FBPS. RESULTS: The median intake was 15 pieces of fried bacon (range 12-23), 1.5 dl parsley sauce (range 1-5 dl), and eight potatoes (range 6-30), but no dessert. We found a significantly increased stool frequency and a trend towards change in consistency compared to baseline. We found increased abdominal pain and a decrease in general well-being, but could not demonstrate any impact on complaints from the family. CONCLUSION: In otherwise healthy old boys footballers the FBPS diet has great impact on a range of gastrointestinal symptoms. FBPS affected stool frequency and abdominal pain, but caused no effect on family complaints. We cannot exclude a dose-response effect or a gender/age phenomenon; and we suggest supplemental dose-response studies and studies including women of all ages. Further, we recommend a detailed dietary assessment before referring patients with gastrointestinal symptoms for invasive procedures like colonoscopy or CT-scanning. TRIAL REGISTRATION: none FUNDING: none.

Exotic food allergy: anaphylactic reaction to lychee.

There are very few reports on allergic reactions to lychee fruit in the literature. We describe the case of a 26-year-old man who developed pruritus, generalized urticaria, and severe angioedema of his lips and tongue with dyspnea within 15 minutes after lychee fruit intake. Although we found no lychee-specific immunoglobulin E antibodies, a basophil activation test (BAT) and a cellular antigen stimulation test (CAST) to lychee were both positive, as was a prick-to-prick test with fresh lychee fruit. The patient also suffered from an oral food allergy syndrome to parsley and was sensitized to mugwort but not to latex or profilin. BAT and CAST are helpful tools in the diagnostic workup for exotic food allergy. Mugwort is suggested as the allergen responsible for,the cross-reactivity presented by this patient, as he had no sensitization to latex or profilin.