Monthly Archives: November 2021

What You Need to Know About Seafood Allergy

Even if the worst food allergies begin during your childhood, seafood allergy stands out. If you consult an allergist, they will tell you that seafood allergy can develop anytime in your life. However, it is more present during adulthood. It could be caused by the foods that you ate before without issues.

Seafood allergy is the most common onset food allergy among adults. Therefore, you might be surprised that one day you will just develop a seafood allergy even if you never had it before.

You will discover more about this allergy as you read further.

Which ones are Considered Seafood?

Seafood pertains to any fresh and saltwater fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. Common examples are:

  • Fish: Bluefish, anchovy, bass, catfish, carp, cod, char, haddock, flounder, herring, halibut, sardines, mahi-mahi, salmon, and tuna
  • Shellfish: Clams, abalone, mussels, conch, oysters, octopus, sea snails, scallops, and squid
  • Crustaceans: Crayfish, crab, prawns, shrimp, and lobster
  • Others: Kamaboko and surimi, caviar and roe, and tarama

It is not Rare

While figures range per country, about 1% of the population suffers from this type of allergy. Teenagers and adults experience it more compared to early childhood. Approximately 20% grows out of their allergy over time.

Symptoms of Seafood Allergy

You need to see an allergy doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms after consuming seafood:

  • Flushed face, rash or hives, red and itchy skin
  • Swelling of the eyes, lips, face, tongue, and throat
  • You have trouble swallowing, speaking, or breathing
  • Itchy skin
  • Vomiting, diarrhea, and cramps
  • You experience distress, anxiety, paleness, fainting, weakness, and a sense of doom
  • Your blood pressure drops, have a rapid heartbeat, and loss of consciousness

How is it Diagnosed?

Seafood allergies are more seen in adults and less common among children. An allergist will be able to confirm if you suspect that you are allergic to seafood.

Cooking Sometimes Affect Your Tolerance

Normally, seafood allergens are heat stable and cooking cannot easily destroy them, but sometimes individuals can tolerate tinned fish. However, they are unable to tolerate the same type of fish if it is freshly cooked. You should not try tinned fish unless your doctor advises you to.

How You Can Avoid Seafood

It is easy to avoid buying or cooking seafood, but there are many ingredients added to food that is made from seafood. You must always check the labels on processed or packaged foods. Watch out for these:

  • Oyster sauce and fish sauce
  • Marinara sauce
  • Fish stock
  • Fish paste
  • Prawn crisps and prawn crackers
  • Sushi
  • Caesar salad
  • Cooking oil
  • Pizza
  • Krill or fish oil supplements
  • Cooking oil that was used for cooking fish

If you order a meat curry, they might have used the fish sauce to cook it. You should tell the waiters that you are allergic to seafood and your meal should not have any seafood in it, even if it is just oyster sauce or fish sauce.

Fish oil supplements are highly unlikely to cause any adverse reaction, but you should still avoid them.

Some people are extremely sensitive to any type of fish that they can react even to the steam produced from cooking fish. This is more common in children with asthma.

You should look for an allergy specialist Manassas VA who will tell you everything you should know because you should stay away from seafood no matter what.

What Exactly is Food Allergy Testing?

Before you make any changes, seeing an allergy specialist is important so that you can see what you must avoid. When you see an allergy doctor, they can give the proper diagnosis so you will know what to expect and prevent it from happening if you eat a certain food.

Food allergies should not be taken lightly and sometimes they continue to adulthood. In addition, some people develop food allergies during their adulthood. If you are allergic, your immune system will react to the food if it is dangerous for you.

Here is more information before getting a good allergy test.

What You Can Expect

Many people are nervous about food allergy testing if they are unaware of what it is like to have it done. They worry that the test is scary and painful, but that is not the actual case and the reality is that it is actually more comfortable than you think. It is a lot faster than what people expect because you only need 1 minute to complete the actual test.

During the test, they will press an applicator against your back that has multiple points exposing your skin to different antigens. However, it is not an indication that you will be done in 5 minutes. You have to wait for your test results and discuss what food you are allergic to.

Aside from that, the testing application consumes very little time, but the staff wants you to be in the office so they can watch out for any reactions.

The Difference Between Food Allergy and Food Sensitivity

This is something that an allergy specialist must discuss with you because there is confusion between them. The symptoms overlap, but the symptoms dramatically vary. Food sensitivity indicates that your body has a hard time digesting certain food. In general, symptoms are limited to problems with digestion, and that includes abdominal pain, gas, nausea, and diarrhea.

The common causes include enzymes in dairy, lactose, monosodium glutamate (MSG), flavor enhancer/s, FODMAPs, and gluten which can cause food sensitivity to people.

An immune system reaction to a food allergy that impacts various organs can cause dangerous symptoms.

How You Can Prepare for a Food Allergy Test

What you must do before going to an allergy specialist doctor for your test is to relax before that. It is a very simple process and after you are done, you can rest properly knowing that you are on your way to removing any dangerous and annoying symptoms linked to certain foods you eat.

You can have your nurse practitioner or gastroenterologist write a numbing cream prescription for you.

When you apply the cream on your back before the test helps reduce the itch you feel from the antigens you were exposed to. The cream also reduces the prick you feel from the applicator points, but the majority of people do not feel pain.

Sings that You Might Require a Food Allergy Test

  • Tingling in your mouth or throat after eating
  • Itchy skin or hives
  • Swelling of the face, lips, throat, or tongue after eating
  • Trouble breathing, wheezing, or nasal congestion
  • Digestive problems or abdominal pain
  • Fainting, lightheadedness, or dizziness after eating
  • Persistent eczema

If you have severe food allergy reactions, you need emergency care as soon as possible. You should schedule a test at an allergy clinic Manassas VA right away to prevent it next time.

 

Why You Need to See an Allergy Doctor

Maybe you experience seasonal allergies and you go for over-the-counter medicine to soothe your symptoms like itchy and red eyes. You might want to have an allergy doctor whom you talk to about your symptoms because sometimes these symptoms can get worst. They can affect your ability to function in your daily life.

When should you visit an allergist who diagnoses and treats allergies caused by dysfunctions in the immune system? You will see from this article the reasons why you need an allergist. They are helpful in providing care for a lot of conditions involving the immune system.

Find out more here:

Your Cold is Not Going Away

A cold or virus cough must clear up in a few weeks. If you have persistent coughs or it consistently shows up in a pattern, like only in the spring or when you are in bed, then it might be an allergy.

This is the same for headaches because they can be linked to sinusitis caused by allergies. The dull headaches and repeated fatigue symptoms help you determine if the allergies are involved in helping you get relief.

Your Sinus Infection is Chronic

Sinuses are the hollow openings behind the nose and around the eyes. They have mucus that helps warm and filter breathing. This mucus needs to be drained out. If the mucus gets blocked and the sinuses are congested, you might have a sinus infection. In case you have asthma, allergies, or a weakened immune system, you are more prone to getting sinus infections.

An allergist and immunologist can give you prescription medications that help ease pain and congestion of sinus infections. You will learn the ways of preventing a sinus infection that happens in the first place. For instance, most of the time, washing hands and using a humidifier or nasal spray to add moisture to your nasal passage is helpful.

You Get Diarrhea After a Meal

An allergy doctor can test if you have food allergies and help you separate what is intolerance or food allergy when you eat something. If it is a food allergy, your body will cause an immune response to what you are and it is normally within 2 hours. Swelling, rash, trouble breathing, and hives are all symptoms of food allergy.

Intolerance is harder to detect because the symptoms only start after 3 hours of eating and range from mild nausea, bloating, and diarrhea. If you know which foods to avoid that cause your allergy, you will no longer suffer from the symptoms. Your immune system also improves when you eat certain kinds of foods.

If you are Asthmatic

Asthma can cause the muscles in your airways to spasm or tighten, and it can inflame the lining of the lungs. This is going to block airflow, which makes it hard to breathe. Asthma ranges from mild to severe, which can be life-threatening. You might feel chest tightness and you will struggle to breathe.

When you work with an allergist, your asthma can be controlled and you will have fewer asthma flares. The allergist can give you a prescription for medication so your specific symptoms can be treated. You will learn about different asthma triggers so that you can avoid them.

You will be able to avoid allergy triggers if you see an allergy specialist doctor Germantown MD because you will no longer suffer from the symptoms.