It is almost unheard of, that allergy to sugar can occur! It is thought that the chemical size of sugar is too small to trigger an immune response. I guess we have much to learn! First I must explain about the initial sensitizer, original sin if you will. Read on…
In Malaysia, the house dust mite is the main aeroallergen sensitizer. The warm and humid environment makes it a heaven for dust mites to live. As dust mites cannot drink water, it depends on the ambient humidity for moisture. Its food is our dead skin that is flaked off every day onto our bed covers. So every night, we sleep with our old “friend” the dust mite. House dust mites are one of the major triggers for allergic rhinitis, but in this situation, it is causing allergy to sugar!
There is much to discover about dust mite allergy. The Blomia Tropicalis dust mite is particularly found in the tropical region and Malaysia is one of the countries where this is relevant. The Blomia Tropicalis dust mite is harbors unique allergens that are not found in the other dust mites. If you are interested in learning how to control dust mites in your house, click here: Controlling House Dust Mites.
The figure below from Allergo Journal International DOI:10.1007/s40629-022-00205-w shows the photos of dust mites and their relevant allergens. Note that the Blomia Tropicalis has low cross reactivity to other dust mites and at most has moderate cross reactivity to storage mites.
I had 2 cases of individuals that developed allergic reaction after drinking milk products containing GOS prebiotic. Their face were swollen within 30 minutes of consumption. Testing found that these individuals were allergic to dust mite Blomia Tropicalis and to the sugar GOS. This GOS is short for Galacto Oligo saccharide, a prebiotic to help with gut microbiome. I am happy to be part of the first paper to describe this phenomenon. An unusual cause of food-induced anaphylaxis in mothers – WAO Journal 2017
Research studies have shown that the dust mite Blomia Tropicalis can cause a person to be sensitized to GOS sugar. Quite an unique phenomenon! In my experience, these individuals allergy to the GOS prebiotic resolves over time. I am not quite sure what causes the resolution, my theory is that avoidance of the GOS is one. Another thought is that over time, the immune system develops a regulatory mechanism, or perhaps there is another confounding factor that is not accounted for.
