Shellfish Allergy / Anaphylaxis

[cbmotorsport]

I'm a chef by trade. I've prepared and eaten seafood for 30 years. I've travelled Asia and lived off the stuff. I've eaten a lot of raw seafood in various cuisines, and I've been exposed to it almost daily.

I'm sure then, that you can imagine my surprise at finding myself in A&E last night with Anaphylaxis, being given adrenaline, oxygen and a drip after de-veining a few supermarket prawns at home for our supper.

The weekend before, I'd prepped around 500 king prawns for a wedding breakfast without any issue.

Anyone else suffer with this? how do you manage it. Have you ever been able to eat/handle shellfish again? Did you go down the Allergy clinic route to pinpoint exactly what it is that you're allergic to?

I'm still struggling to believe that it was the prawns that caused it, so out of the blue.

[Guv10]

Ouch, doesn't sound fun!

I know how you feel. I had an incident a few years back. Went to a restaurant for dinner (seafood) i've never really liked it or wanted to try it (perhaps my body was warning me)

I thought I would try crab for starter. Was a full crab, the lot. Ate it all. All was fine until a couple of hours later. Hands started itching, then chest red and tongue starting swelling, cue 999. Spent night in hospital on a drip.

Went for tests, all came back negative that I was allergic to anything!

I've heard that seafood can have toxins in sometimes if not cooked or prepped properly but you'd know better than me being a chef!

[Fastpedeller]

OP. These things are weird. I've always been able to eat anything, and loved a good pizza. About when I hit 50 I had a cheese and pickle sandwich one day and have never felt so ill, with terrible vertigo. It took nearly a year to nail it down, (didn't link it with cheese at the time) during which time I went to GP many times, telling them that when I got the sickness/vertigo I had pains in left side, and I was convinced it was digestive. They just said it was 'inner ear'. Ended up in Hospital one night after the paramedics thought I'd had a heart attack. Eventually went to a nutritionist who immediately said "you are lactose intolerant", and indeed if I have even a little milk it's an instant laxative. I've never had cheese again since the first attack. I've had 2 allergy tests (the blood sample type) and it doesn't show up!

[Shappers24]

I have a severe allergy to fish and shellfish. It has progressively got worse as I’ve got older.

Fish is one allergen where it is released in the steam of cooking, and if you’re super sensitive just from handling it. The smell of cooked fish is enough to start triggering a reaction with me - swollen lips, tightening of the throat etc. If I remove myself from the area it solves it.

I hope given your trade it was just a one off.

[cbmotorsport]

Thanks for the replies. I'm really hopeful it's a one off. I'm going to book myself in for allergy testing and try and pinpoint the exact cause, at least then I can be prepared.

[Fastpedeller]

cbmotorsport said:

Thanks for the replies. I'm really hopeful it's a one off. I'm going to book myself in for allergy testing and try and pinpoint the exact cause, at least then I can be prepared.

I hope you have better luck than me with the testing - from my experience if you don't get an indication a nutritionist may help, but given the reaction you had it looks like you may know what to avoid.

[JapanRed]

These things can occur out of the blue. Not sure why but I know they can. Can’t offer you any specific advise except good luck.

[RTB]

Just like the rest of your physiology, your immune system changes over time. There's a chance that years of exposure to the various allergens found in shell-fish have sensitised your immune system.

It could be a one-off, it could be the start of a more chronic hypersensitivity. I'd be treating shellfish like any other potentially hazardous material i.e. wear nitrile gloves when prepping until you've had a chance to get to the bottom of the issue.