Is it possible to have an allergy you don't react to?

[sammy1025]

I went to the allergist a few weeks ago for several reasons. I mentioned that I have a mild reaction to shrimp (sometimes) and asked if we could run a blood test to find out if I'm allergic. He said yes, and that they would run a whole panel of shrimp, lobster, and crab. I eat crab all the time, and I've never had a problem with that or lobster. When he called with the results, I was shocked. He said I have a strong allergy to crab and no allergy to shrimp. Since both of us thought this was weird, we agreed that the lab had probably erroneously put positive for crab instead of shrimp. They reran the results, with a similar conclusion, except this time I also tested positive for a mild allergy to shrimp. He told me that he wanted me to continue eating crab, 6-8 times a year, because I had probably developed a tolerance to crabmeat. I am wondering if anyone has heard of something like this or experienced it?

[sammy1025]

My allergist wanted to test me because I'm 18 and he said shellfish allergies don't develop until early twenties usually. I am just not sure why he would have me tested and then ignore the results.

I had a similar problem to your son when I was much younger, Annie, and I outgrew it by the time I was thirteen. I hope he does too!

Thanks for both of your help!

[Jerry_NJ]

I hope your young son grows out of the sneezing - I'm sure that's been discussed with your/his doctors.  

Our children are grown and the general experience has been, and is normal, they got stronger and more resistant to everything as their immune systems developed.  

Of course it works both ways, aging works against one once past 30 or so and become real noticable when you pass 70.

I don't know that this relates directly to the post, but I offer as general discussion and suggest an extension of my above observation could be that the things that cause a physical reaction in our body change over time.

[AnnieBrooke]

My son's allergist always differentiated between irritants and allergens, and also said that sometimes people get told they are allergic to something that by their personal experience they know does not give them a reaction (and vice versa, they come up as not allergic to something they are sure gives them a reaction.)  I don't know exactly how the allergists explain this, but my son's pediatrician does not refer her patients to an allergist very often for that reason.  She says the parent usually has a clearer idea what foods to avoid for her child than the allergist can give from testing.  We did get our son tested because he seemed to be sneezing all the time, but because he came up as positive for allergies to a lot of things there was no avoiding,  we just wound up putting him on a Zyrtec a day and managing it that way.  It kind of ended up that it didn't really matter exactly *what* he was allergic to, just that we understood we needed to manage it in some way.

[Jerry_NJ]

I can't understand why you went to the expense of allergy testing - must have a good/strong insurance plan.

I get occasional reactions to eggs,  mostly when they are raw but sometimes after eating them..I think some of it is psychological not physical.  I like raw shrimp and sometimes, not often because of cost, I eat too many and that may trigger a upset reaction.  Raw oysters?  Don't do those often but I have eaten them with only mild discomfort.  I just had to join-in or to try.

I don't know if my experience relates but I offer it more as an example of what I think is human nature than allergy.