Shellfish Allergy

I am a 52 year old female and have never had any allergies.  Since this past May, when I eat crabs or scallops my mouth becomes numb for about 2 hours and then my face has red bloches.  Eventually, it goes away.  Is this serious?

Thanks,

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

It seems that you have developed allergic reactions to the food stuffs you mention. It would be best to avoid all such substances which have been causing similar reactions - they could turn into serious symptoms even causing breathing difficulty.

Keep some oral antihistamine medications at hand like cetrizine, loratadine and take the medications in case you have similar symptoms again.

Consult an allergy specialist and get yourself tested for food allergies - you would probably need to carry an epi-pen with you in the future.

Let us know about what your doctor advises and post us if you need any other information.

Regards.

[crystalfresh]

You can take Benadryl next time it happens. Allergies can get worst with repeat exposure some times. It is advisable that you remove all shellfish from your diet. Reactions can get worst or stay the same. No one really ever knows until it changes. The reaction is from your immune sys and any allergic reaction is not healthy for your body to experience. It can be serious if the allergy becomes more severe. If you ever experience heart or breathing problems then you will need to seek medical help. Antihistamine will reduce the allergy in most cases and can save lives. Many doctors will recommend carrying an Eppi injector just in case the allergy ever becomes life threatening as affecting your heart or breathing. Other wise Benadryl should do the trick. Food allergies can first start and last up to days after eating. I experience them right on contact and then again several hours later and again 1-2 days later. So if you have a reaction it might be advisable to stay on antihistamine for 1-2 days.

As with any allergy it affect all people differently. Learn about what anaphylactic shock is and how to identify it just to be safe. Also seek advice from your doctor if you are unable to avoid these foods. Always carry at least a 2 Benedryl gel caps that are not expired. Benadryl has saved my life in the past more than once.

[crystalfresh]

It's not a bad idea to get tested for food allergies too. I found out that I have many types of food allergy. They are all grouped too. Like all nuts not just one. All beans not just one. In your case probably all shellfish. I thought my allergy testing was not accurate because I showed negative on some but positive on others. Food allergy is harder to detect. My intestines are working better since I removed my allergy foods so that is confirmation that some tests don't detect food allergies as well. I'd get intradermal and blood testing together not either or. :) Good luck. Hope you feel better.