Why do Avocados Cause Itchiness of the Mouth, Tongue, and Throat?

For a small subset of unlucky people, avocado can cause mild to extreme itchiness of the mouth, tongue, and throat. The itchiness can be quite discomforting, and may persist from a few minutes to even many hours for some people.

The most likely cause of the itchiness is a food allergy. A compound called persin, which is prevalent in the leaves and bark of the avocado tree and its fruit, causes an allergic reaction resulting in itchiness of the skin for many people.

Persin is toxic to many animals including cats, dogs, and many types of birds. Eating a large quantity of avocado bark, pits, and flesh can cause sickness and even death for these animals. The vast majority of people are not affected by the compound, but some people do have an adverse reaction to it.

If you find that your mouth gets itchy after eating avocado, see if mixing the avocado with other types of food, rather than eating it whole, helps to alleviate your symptoms. Diluting the offending allergen with food and water sometimes helps to reduce the itchiness. You may try the bacon, fried egg, avocado cheeseburger in the picture here, for example.

The next step would be a visit to your physician. Diagnostic tests can produce an allergen profile for an individual, which can definitively determine the foods you are allergic to and explain why you are experiencing itchiness.

Image credit: Bacon, Fried Egg, Avocado Cheeseburger by David Lifson

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