Among the realm of common food allergies, shellfish reigns as one of the more common. There are cases where people react to a certain shellfish, or all of them, and some who think they have an allergy when really they have a sensitivity. We will cover here the causes, symptoms, and what you can do in extreme reactions to shellfish allergy. I will also include a list of all the shellfish that people react to, as all of them do not have shells (squids for example).
As with most allergies, this is caused by the body recognizing proteins in the shellfish as intruders akin to diseases. To eradicate the so-called intruders, the body automatically releases histamines to do battle with the “disease.” The histamines cause cold like symptoms, and with bad reactions it can even become deadly. If you are allergic to only a certain shellfish, but are fine with others, I would still suggest you stay away from all of them. The body can soon recognize the similar proteins as enemies as well, and will begin releasing histamines for other shellfish. My advice? The best way to deal with a shellfish allergy and avoid any reaction is to just stay away from them. Unlike many other allergies, shellfish are not included in every product (compare to people with peanut, milk, soy, or wheat allergies and count your blessings), but you should still read every ingredient list to ensure that shellfish are not included in sauces or foods you would never expect to find them (like certain steak sauces for example).
The symptoms are usually not unlike having a cold. They can range from itching and irritated skin, swelling of the body (usually in the face, tongue, or throat, but it can be anywhere), constricted breathing, diarrhea, and dizziness. However, there is an extreme reaction known as anaphylaxis. During this your body can go into shock and you will fall unconscious. While the other symptoms cause discomfort, anaphylaxis is potentially fatal, and at best will land you a trip to the emergency room.
To help ease reactions, you can take antihistamines. They will block the histamines, either entirely or partially, and can help or displace the allergy entirely. However, in the extreme case, you should always carry around an Epi Pen. These are little needles that can administer a small dose of the adrenaline epinephrine, which will wake you from being unconscious. Even after this though, you should definitely visit the emergency room so a doctor can see if you are alright, or if more needs to be done.
Speaking of doctors, you should visit one as soon as you notice an allergy symptom starting. If you eat shellfish and find that a few minutes, or hours, later you get symptoms like those above, see a doctor. They can help you, and can confirm that it it an allergy and not a sensitivity.
Some people get food poisoning very easily from shellfish, and while it is very similar to the allergy, they are suffering from something completely different.
Now, as for a list of all the shellfish that can effect you, here is all the known fish to have caused allergies in people, provided by mayoclinic.com:
“Crustaceans include crabs, lobster, crayfish, shrimp and prawns.
Mollusks include:
* Bivalves, such as clams, mussels, oysters and scallops
* Gastropods, such as limpets, periwinkles, snails (escargot) and abalone
Cephalopods, such as squid, cuttlefish and octopuses”
As I said, the best advice is to just not eat shellfish if you have an allergy, but if you really crave one, talk to your doctor first and see if they can prescribe something to help you.
Information on shellfish allergy found out: http://mayoclinic.com/health/shellfish-allergy/DS00987
