EATING an orange could kill Amanda Fitzpatrick.

The 25-year-old cannot eat oranges, apples, pineapple or grapes — in fact, she cannot eat any fruit except bananas.

She cannot eat peanuts, she cannot eat food that contains soy, including tinned tuna, chewing gum and popcorn, and she cannot eat any food that has preservatives in.

Going to a restaurant or ordering a takeaway is impossible for Amanda, who cannot even eat food that has been on a spoon or a plate which has had anything on it that she is allergic to.

Even kissing her boyfriend after he has eaten something she cannot eat could affect her.

If she touches an apple against her lips, the trainee primary school teacher’s tongue and throat swells up and she is unable to breathe.

When this happens, Amanda has to quickly give herself two injections and dial 999 straight away.

She used to be all right with one injection, but her allergies have gradually worsened and she now needs two to stabalise her condition before she gets to hospital where she will be treated with steroids and adrenaline and observed for several hours.

Amanda has anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening condition caused by allergic reactions.

About a third of the UK population will develop an allergy at some time in their lives and about a million people will suffer from severe symptoms.

However, the combination of Amanda’s allergies is rare — and she has had to adapt her life because of it.

Amanda, who is originally from Ramsbottom and lived in Bolton town centre for several years before moving to Carlisle to complete her PGCE, says she has lost weight and suffered panic attacks about her allergies.

Until she was aged 17, Amanda could eat anything she liked.

But she began to get allergic reactions and over time her allergies got worse.

Now she is forced to live off a plain diet of mainly jacket potatoes, bread, chicken and pasta. She said: “I can’t eat at restaurants. The last time I did was in October for my birthday and I ate a chip and as soon as I ate it I couldn’t breathe and had to go to hospital.

@I live with my boyfriend and he eats whatever he wants. But has to be really careful, he brushes his teeth alot.”

Amanda said there are positive things about her condition as she has been able to talk to and reassure children at her school who suffer from allergies.

However, she admitted it was hard work, particularly socially and said she can go through phases where she is in and out of hospital with reactions.

Amanda said: “This year has been really bad so far. It got so bad that I wasn’t eating because I didn’t want to have a reaction and I lost weight. I started having panic attacks and couldn’t control my breathing.

“I am terrified when it happens because I can’t breathe, and if you stop breathing then you die.”

Amanda is hopeful a treatment will be developed that can help her condition. She is a member of the Anaphylaxis Campaign, which keeps sufferers up-to-date with different food types that may affect their allergies.

However, she said her main concern is that her symptoms and allergies, which do not follow a pattern, will get worse.

  • For more information about The Anaphylaxis Campaign, visit anaphylaxis.org.uk.