What types of food have been found to cause a shellfish allergy?

Do you enjoy eating seafood? Many people love to eat seafood, but some have an allergy to shellfish. This is serious business and should not be taken lightly. Even the slightest amount of shellfish or shellfish oils can prompt a shellfish mild or even severe reaction.

What types of food have been found to cause this? Shellfish include: abalone, clams, crab, crawfish, crayfish, lobster, oysters, scallops, shrimp, cockle, sea urchin, and mussels. Any or all of these shellfish can cause an adverse reaction. This shellfish allergy is widespread among adults.

How can you tell if you have a problem with shellfish? Common symptoms include wheezing, constricting of throat, and swelling of the face and air passages. This can lead to anaphylactic shock. When this occurs you need to use an epinephrine shot to stop the attack.

What can a person do to avoid attacks? The number one way is to avoid shellfish altogether. This is most easily achieved at home when you control exactly what you eat and how you cook it. However, you need to be more careful when dinning out. Verify that there are no shellfish ingredients or that the meal is being cooked in shellfish oils.

What shellfish causes the most problems? Shrimp is the number one culprit when it comes to shellfish. Be careful when eating fried foods as well because the oil may have shellfish parts in it. Also be weary of eating food that has been prepared in the same dish or touches the shellfish on a plate.

It is better to be safe then sorry, so look for even the slightest shellfish contamination. Avoid using the same cutting board for shellfish and other foods. Shellfish oils can seep into the cutting board and cross contaminate any other foods that are prepared on that cutting board.

An interesting thing to note about shellfish is that some people have a slight allergy while for others it can be deadly. For example, one individual may have a minor skin rash when consuming shellfish while another can become disoriented and go into anaphylactic shock. A reaction to shellfish can be avoided if the proper precautions are taken.

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