Allergic reactions to seafood seem to be caused by proteins and related compounds rather than from iodine. Cross reactivity is not uncommon even between different groups such as between mollusks and crustaceans. Symptoms of allergic reaction to marine edibles are same as those of allergy to other foods (such as peanuts, chocolate, tomatoes), i.e., 1) anaphylaxis, which can be rapidly deadly because of asthma like breathing problems and bad hypotension but also sometimes causes abdominal cramping and diarrhea , 2) urticaria , the typical "hives" which causes diffuse itching and raised welts, 3) angioedema, a deep swelling of the skin often on the hands, feet or face which is only really dangerous when it occurs in the mouth and can thus cause obstruction of the airway. There is another syndrome that may account for some of the variability seen in the reaction of an individual to the same seafood at different times. It is called "food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis" in which folks at rest can eat food without problems but if they eat food to which they are allergic and then exercise within 2-4 hours they can develop an allergic reaction. As an ER doc in South Louisiana I see a fair amount of seafood allergy. In fact, people who know they are allergic to seafood often premedicate themselves with oral Benadryl before a crawfish or crab boil. This generally works out pretty well but is risky business. Treatment of allergy (seafood or otherwise) involves antihistamine (such as Benadryl) and if things are going downhill fast (e.g., patient can't breath, gets profoundly weak or passes out) a shot of adrenaline such as by an epipen usually clears things up in a miraculously quick fashion. Of course the swallowed allergen usually sticks around in the body longer than the epinephrine(adrenaline) so you've got to get some antihistamine in and watch the sufferer closely for a while. I don't personally know what to make of the notion of allergy to iodine. It is an essential mineral that must be ingested or we'd all get big goiterous necks ( and other more significant problems) from hypothyroidism. Almost all table salt is iodinated to prevent this. Clearly people can be allergic to iodine containing compounds like Betadine. ( And then again, I'm not an allergist.) There are a host of other seafood derived gastrointestinal and other system illnesses to complicate the picture. Larry Koenig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
<snip> |As an ER doc in South Louisiana I see a fair amount of seafood allergy. In |fact, people who know they are allergic to seafood often premedicate |themselves with oral Benadryl before a crawfish or crab boil. This generally |works out pretty well but is risky business. |Larry Koenig Wow! This list always amazes me with the information it provides and the wide range of people's background's, knowledge and experience.... My wife is allergic to shellfish. She can eat shrimp but sometimes she gets hives. Many times she will take Benadryl before eating as a prophalactic. She has never had any serious symptoms but maybe she should just stop eating shrimp. Or better yet she can order 'em and I can eat 'em! 8-) Later... Dan McCarty *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Thanks for the informative food alergy writing. It also is amazing to me the world of experience this group has. While in Alaska I have always worried about clamming not because of a shell fish allergic reaction, but because of contamination by red tide or the like in these remote areas. I know that the vast majority of the locations would never be tested, and if they were, I'd certainly never hear or read about the results. How can we protect ourselves and still enjoy the bounty of the land (er, um, sea)? ---------- >From: "Larry Koenig" <paddlin_at_home.com> >To: "Paddlewise" <PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net> >Subject: [Paddlewise] "Food Poisoning" >Date: Wed, Sep 15, 1999, 12:14 PM > >Allergic reactions to seafood seem to be caused by proteins and related >compounds rather than from iodine. Cross reactivity is not uncommon even >between different groups such as between mollusks and crustaceans. Symptoms of >allergic reaction to marine edibles are same as those of allergy to other >foods (such as peanuts, chocolate, tomatoes), i.e., 1) anaphylaxis, which can >be rapidly deadly because of asthma like breathing problems and bad >hypotension but also sometimes causes abdominal cramping and diarrhea , 2) >urticaria , the typical "hives" which causes diffuse itching and raised >welts, 3) angioedema, a deep swelling of the skin often on the hands, feet or >face which is only really dangerous when it occurs in the mouth and can thus >cause obstruction of the airway. There is another syndrome that may account >for some of the variability seen in the reaction of an individual to the same >seafood at different times. It is called "food-dependent exercise-induced >anaphylaxis" in which folks at rest can eat food without problems but if they >eat food to which they are allergic and then exercise within 2-4 hours they >can develop an allergic reaction. > > >As an ER doc in South Louisiana I see a fair amount of seafood allergy. In >fact, people who know they are allergic to seafood often premedicate >themselves with oral Benadryl before a crawfish or crab boil. This generally >works out pretty well but is risky business. > > >Treatment of allergy (seafood or otherwise) involves antihistamine (such as >Benadryl) and if things are going downhill fast (e.g., patient can't breath, >gets profoundly weak or passes out) a shot of adrenaline such as by an epipen >usually clears things up in a miraculously quick fashion. Of course the >swallowed allergen usually sticks around in the body longer than the >epinephrine(adrenaline) so you've got to get some antihistamine in and watch >the sufferer closely for a while. > > >I don't personally know what to make of the notion of allergy to iodine. It >is an essential mineral that must be ingested or we'd all get big goiterous >necks ( and other more significant problems) from hypothyroidism. Almost all >table salt is iodinated to prevent this. Clearly people can be allergic to >iodine containing compounds like Betadine. ( And then again, I'm not an >allergist.) > > >There are a host of other seafood derived gastrointestinal and other system >illnesses to complicate the picture. > > > > > >Larry Koenig > > > > > >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ >*************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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