36 and just had my first reaction to shrimp

Well everyone can't believe I am posting this, after 36 years and literally probably 25 years of eating shrimp I had my first reaction to it 3 days ago.  All I had was cocktail shrimp and cocktail sauce.  The same sauce I used last week.  This time I just ate more shrimp then I normally do.  I had no sides or anything with the shrimp just cocktail shrimp.  And literally 2 hours later I broke out in welts on my thighs and my upper arms.

My throat started getting swollen but luckily not to the point where I couldn't breath.  I took Benadryl that night and it helped with the rash but the symptoms have literally lasted about 3 days now.

I have spoke to some people about this that have allergies and they have mentioned that I will now have to be concerned with Iodine.  I remember when I got a cat scan back when I was like 18 or so they asked me if I was allergic to eggs before they injected the iodine.  So should I also be concerned about my egg intake too?

[ChitChatNine]

Hi Seattle,

WOW .. that's scary.  I'd be sure to stay away from shrimp and anything that shrimp comes in contact with including other shellfish.  Definitely see an allergist for some skin and RAST tests to help identify your allergy and any other unknown possibilities, too.

Iodine and shellfish I think are similar.  Not a bad idea to carry a medic card and wear a medic tag in case of emergency and unable to speak re your allergy to the shrimp.

Yep, unfortunately 3 days sounds about right .. if your rash persists you may want to see your Dr for prednisone added to your regime :(   Your system sounds like its still reacting long after the allergen has been ingested.

What you describe can manifest into an anaphylactic reaction with future/repeated exposure .. I'd see an Allergist ASAP or your family doc at the very least to obtain an Epi Pen prescription and carry two with you .. seafood, nuts, and insects have a high likelihood of rebound where one injection isn't enough as you wait for EMS or enroute to the ER.

Hope this never happens again, but wanted to share some thoughts with you.

Two of my daughters are anaphylactic to  several things .. we've been in the ER 2-3X .. it's scary.

Hang in there and others may have info for you re eggs .. am not sure on that at all.

One other off the wall thought .. The cocktail sauce may contain horseradish which is in the mustard family --- watch for future mustard family ingestions.

Also, maybe use our food diary to track what you eat and reactions.

Be well,

C~

[ChitChatNine]

Meant to also suggest the Allergy Tracker:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_trackers/gallery/allergy

Food Diary:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_trackers/gallery/food

My Diet Diary App
http://www.medhelp.org/land/calorie-counter-app

And our latest is Pic Healthy where you can easily snap a photo and then list your reaction:

http://www.medhelp.org/land/photo-food-app



C~

[seattlemom2plus]

Thanks so much for this information ChitChatNine :)  Yeah I definitely have to look into the eggs aspect and a concern with the iodine for future medical history.  I don't think it is the horseradish because I have even used that alone on sandwiches as a spread.  This is the first time I really ate a good helping of shrimp and had nothing else with it to maybe help absorb the allergen.

Geez learn something new about my body all the time and I guess this is just one of them.  Looking forward to my rash going away and the throat soreness.  It's getting better just amazing that it takes a while to get out of your system.

[ChitChatNine]

Also meant to mention, too, that when you take Benadryl for a reaction like yours, you must be very very careful 6hrs later when the Benadryl wears off because sometimes you can have a rebound reaction because the antihistamine is no longer working in your body .. and that rebound can be more serious than the original episode.  Our allergist told us about that rebound and when my dd had a serious reaction she insisted I sleep in the same room with her .. she was fine, thankfully.

C~

[seattlemom2plus]

Last night was the first night I did not take any Benadryl.  I hate taking stuff :( I have taken it for the last 3 nights so wanted to see how I did with my hives.  So I am glad you posted about rebound reactions because yes sure enough my welts have returned, not as bad as they first were but they returned.   So I put Cortisone cream on them to see if this helps.  That Benadryl spray just seems to burn and make my legs stick together :(

[seattlemom2plus]

How long can the rebound reaction last?  Forgot to ask that lol

[FurballsMom]

I can't answer that last question, but I do know this one for sure:  Cross reactions must be taken seriously now.  So, no lobster and no crabs either.  And, since krill are also a related crustacean, you won't want to supplement with krill oil either, even though it's supposed to be superior to fish oil in the way of animal based omega 3 fatty acids.

I don't have a true allergy to crustaceans, yet, but I watch it, since I've had a globus-like reaction the last few times I ate shrimp.  Now, I'm scared to eat crustaceans myself.  It's more of a food sensitivity, which is why I'm aware of the cross reactions.  It's all the more important for you with a true allergy.

I would continue to take the Benadryl every 6 hours or so until you reach a point of real relief.  I believe ChitChatNine said about three days.  So, clearly, you're out of the woods, so to speak, but I would keep taking the Benadryl for a couple more days.  I know there is a consulting nurse line in Seattle that you can call, too, for answers.  There is a 24 hour number that your doctor's office should have given you for urgent care when you need to speak with a consulting nurse.  If not, you can call the 24 hour line connected with Harbor View.  You can find the number on this page:  http://www.scn.org/crisis/medical.html  During the day time, you can also call 211 for the community information line.

Don't panic that you see the word "crisis" in the address.  It's a general information page for the Seattle area.  It even has the number for Bastyr.

[ChitChatNine]

Furballs -- thanks so much for looking up that info for Seattle

This is what makes us such a special community .. really helping each other!

C~

[seattlemom2plus]

Furball thank you that was perfect information!  My hives have cleared up this week, but yes I am staying away from all shellfish.  My husband had shrimp last night but I did not touch it or even handle the shells for that matter.

Good point on the Krill Oil I would have never thought about that also being included in the list.  I am definitely glad there are so many resources here in the Seattle area.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Good to see you have improved.

Allergic reactions can develop at any point of time. It may help to maintain a food dairy and keep monitoring your symptoms. This will help to narrow the search. Further allergic testing may be worth looking into. Here, the severity of the allergic reaction is tested and based on this the therapy is planned. The dilution of the agent used and the course of therapy are planned according to the severity and with adequate monitoring the person is desensitized.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[seattlemom2plus]

Thanks Paderla for the comment, I definitely think that I need to look into some of these reactions after my pregnancy.  Right now I would be afraid to have any allergy testing performed in case there was something I had a severe reaction to.  But yes keeping a food diary I think is the safest bet.

[ChitChatNine]

These types of testing for severe seafood, milk, and latex as I understand are done only in a Doctor's office with rescue equipment and/or in the hospital as an outpatient.  I, too, was hesitant to have my daughter tested when we thought she had a shrimp allergy.  In her case, it turned out to be a laryngospasm and not allergy as she was eating a dish cooked with shrimp!

C~

[ChitChatNine]

Actually, what I meant to say is that the above is done only in those settings when it's possible a person has outgrown the allergy and they are testing to see if they still are allergic.

To the best of my knowledge, as a side note, latex is rarely given subcutaneous to test, to those with documented allergy. That was what our allergist told us.


C~

[seattlemom2plus]

Very interesting follow up thank you!  I have been reading more and more into my allergies to get a better understanding of them so this certainly helps :D