Sudden Onset Shellfish Allergy?

Has anyone else on here had issues with a sudden onset of a shellfish allergy as an adult? My business partner who is also my neighbor, (therefor we eat together a lot) has developed a shellfish allergy just since Christmas. He ate shrimp and or crab about 4 days in a row over the holidays (mostly my fault from bringing shrimp cocktail to a work party and then sending peope home with homemade gumbo) and then he developed a severe case of hives. Not knowing exactly what caused it he ate some scallops last night and woke up all itchy again this morning (not as bad.) I feel so bad for him, his favorite food is raw oysters!

My brother did. Fortunately, he was at the hospital when it happened. His daughter was in the hospital because of severe dehydration from rotovirus. He went and had lunch at the cafeteria in the hospital. He ate a shrimp cocktail. By the time he ate and walked backed to the room, his face and neck had swollen to twice their size.

Allergies can develop over time and in this exact case... someone might not be allergic to something, but then all of the sudden, they become allergic to something. It most often happens with medications as far as I know. A patient will take a medication one or two times and be alright, and then the third or fourth time, they have an allergic reaction to it.

My beloved wife has developed an allergy to walnuts within the last couple of years. It happens. Not often, but it does.

Just remember to be very careful, and consider carrying some Benadryl or even an Epi-Pen if the reactions are severe. All close friends and associates should know of the condition so they can help out in an emergency. In all cases where an Epi-Pen is used, EMS or 911 should be called.

Also, tell your friend to inform any health-care professionals he deals with of the reaction. Especially if he has to undergo some tests. They use radioactive iodine in some tests, and that could cause a reaction as well.

From what my allergy doctor has told me, I have an allergy to pecans. I eat them but have no reaction. He said the allergy can show up on the test long before you ever have a reaction. I'm still allergic, I guess, just haven't had a reaction yet. I have allergy shots for lots of allergies, so I may never have a reaction with the desensitizing.

Both my mom and my DH's cousin have developed shellfish allergies as adults.

As others have said, allergies can develop at any point, AND you can outgrow them as well. I used to be abel to roll around in Poison Ivy without a problem, now I can't even look at it. I've seen all sorts of weirdness in terms of allergies. So, yes.. It happens...

What about apples? Or more specifically, apple peels?

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Originally Posted by TinyDancer

What about apples? Or more specifically, apple peels?

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Anything is possible, I guess. I was at a First Aid symposium a couple of years ago and heard one of the presenters saying that people in China are starting to show sensitivity to rice!

Scary. It is very common in Eastern Asia, but not very common in Europe and North America.

Here is a quote from Medical News Today website. These are the BIG EIGHT items that cause sensitivity.

"-- milk
-- eggs
-- peanuts (groundnuts)
-- nuts from trees (including Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts)
-- fish
-- shellfish (including mussels, crab and shrimps)
-- soya
-- wheat"

I developed an allergy to :beer: of all things! :( But I've also developed allergies (severe ones) to certain medications after a certain number of cycles. Turns out that some 25% of the population taking those medications do develop allergies (too bad too, because they're very effective).

As regards apples... yep, it happens. One of my regular treatment nurses is allergic to apples and can't even be in the room if we're eating them.

About a year ago after Christmas time my father realized he had a seafood allergy. It came out of absolutely nowhere. I've heard of other people having the same problem with seafood too.:mickey:

Well apparently it happened to him again last night without eating any seafood so now it's back to square one...

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Originally Posted by JanetMegan

Well apparently it happened to him again last night without eating any seafood so now it's back to square one...

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Well that stinks! Worse than the allergy is not know what he's alleric to. Did he have to go to the hospital again.

Hope they can figure it out soon.

Luckily no, it seems to clear up with a Claritin, no breathing problems or anything, just a rash...very frustrating.

could it be a contact allergy?
Maybe a new soap in the shower
New laundry detergent/softener/fabric sheets?
A new item of clothing?
New deodorant,perfume,cologne.
been around someone who has a new animal?
Hopefully he is keeping a journal of everything he uses, touches and ingests.
I wish him good luck.

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Originally Posted by crazypoohbear

Hopefully he is keeping a journal of everything he uses, touches and ingests.
I wish him good luck.

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While it can be a royal pain to do so, if there is no clear evidence as to what is causing the reaction then a log is a very good idea. Of course, it still may not answer all the questions. As an example; let's say your partner uses a laundry to clean his shirts. Perhaps that laundry has switched laundry detergent? There are just so many things out there that you just don't know anything about.

While it can be pricey; especially if not covered by insurance; a doctor that specializes in allergies can do tests and likely pinpoint the problem.

When he had the reaction without the shellfish were you dining out? The reason I ask is because I'm allergic to anything that lives in the water. Meaning not just shellfish but all fish. I was having lunch at a restaurant 1 day when all of a sudden I got very sick. The type of sick I only get if I get any kind of fish. Well it turns out that they used the same utensil to flip my food on the grill that they had just used to flip a tuna melt. That little bit of cross contamination can do to you.