I did some research, shellfish allergies most commonly develop in adulthood and are more common in women as adults. I'm learning more about it. I'm also learning how hard it is to avoid. Just because you aren't eating shellfish doesn't mean your food didn't come in contact with some along the way!
I used to LOVE fried calamari. About a year and a half ago I had some and my throat started to close up. I took a Claritin and felt better. I have avoided it since. My parents serve shrimp at their New Year's Eve party. I always eat some. I wasn't showing a reaction. Then again, I had gotten into the habit of taking a Claritin before parties just in case.
A couple of weeks ago we were on vacation. The only thing that looked good at this one restaurant were the crab cakes. As I felt my throat closing up without a Claritin around I had to wait while everyone finished eating and we drove back to the hotel. I felt my breathing get shallow and my throat get tighter. Luckily, we weren't that far away and I got that Claritin on time. Now I take one every day with breakfast just to be sure.
Okay, so avoid every type of shellfish. I don't eat much of it so that's easy to do. But, it's not that simple. Last night we were at a party. There were mussels there. I didn't take any. But, I've been sick all day. Because of the Claritin it's not life threatening. But, it's there. The mussels were cooked in a small kitchen and likely came in contact with something else I ate from the buffet.
I can now eat comfortably from buffets. When I treated it like an allergy, I found it hard to do. For people with true allergies, most buffets are no-gos because of cross-contamination.
We didn't order anything with shrimp on Thursday night from that Chinese place. But, I felt the same way on Friday. What was in that egg roll? General Tso's Chicken? Chicken and Veggies? I didn't tell them I had a shellfish allergy. I called and they said the pork in the Pork Fried Rice is stored next to the shrimp. THERE'S the culprit!
This one still confuses me. It shouldn't have been an issue. I don't have to tell restaurants about the intolerance. But, you do for allergies.
Tell restaurants about the allergy. You also have to ask if they use the same cutting boards, pots, pans, utensils and oils for shellfish as they use for non-shellfish foods. You have to make sure nothing on your plate came in contact with shellfish and that nothing used to make it came in contact with shellfish. Don't give those allergic anything that came anywhere near shellfish!!!
Symptoms include:
Allergies can cause a severe, potentially life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis. An anaphylactic reaction to shellfish or anything else is a medical emergency that requires treatment with an epinephrine (adrenaline) injection and a trip to the emergency room.
Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis include:
- A swollen throat or a lump in your throat (airway constriction) that makes it difficult for you to breathe
- Shock, with a severe drop in your blood pressure
- Rapid pulse
- Dizziness, lightheadedness or loss of consciousness
Shellfish include:
There are several types of shellfish, each containing different proteins:
- Crustaceans include crabs, lobster, crayfish, shrimp and prawn.
- Mollusks include squid, snails, octopus, clams, oysters and scallops.
There are some things that are common for all food allergies. Most of the symptoms for example. But also the need to be aware of the entire preparation process. What is your food kept near? Do they use different cutting boards, utensils, cookware and oils? You have to tell those serving your food about your allergy and ask for these accommodations.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/10/14/why-food-allergy-fakers-need-stop/PB6uN8NF3eLWFjXnKF5A9K/story.html
I read that article recently. A lot of people claim to have a food allergy but clearly don't. Don't say you are allergic to gluten then order a beer. What most people don't realize is the extent a lot of restaurants go through to accommodate food allergies. Below is part of it. When you say you have an allergy and it's really a food preference, it's a real problem in restaurants.
I feel guilty for all the times I said it was an allergy before I knew for sure. I know everything restaurants did to accommodate that. Right when I found out it was an intolerance instead. I stopped saying anything. But, mine was an honest mistake. My throat does close up. At the time, it was for safety. I do indeed have shellfish issues. That's not a preference.
".....................please stop describing your food preferences as an allergy. That is a very specific medical term, and invoking it triggers an elaborate, time-consuming protocol in any self-respecting kitchen. It shouldn’t be tossed around as liberally as the sea salt on the house-made (gluten-free) breadsticks.
I know you want your dietary preferences to be taken seriously, and you think invoking the A-word is a harmless little white lie. But you have no idea how much trouble you’re causing and how much you’re helping to erode hard-won progress for people with genuine allergies and disorders.
In a stunningly short slice of history, we’ve gone from food allergies being met with ignorance or indifference in the restaurant world to their domination of the discussion between server and diner, starting with the greeting and continuing all the way to dessert. The seriousness with which most chefs now take allergies has opened up the restaurant experience to a whole group of people who previously couldn’t risk dining out. That progress should be celebrated.
But it shouldn’t be taken for granted. And we’ve come to a tipping point, thanks to the explosion of faddists and bandwagon-jumpers and attention-seekers who wrap their food dislikes in the packaging of allergy and disease. After witnessing enough diners who make a big fuss about how their bodies can’t tolerate gluten and then proceed to order a beer or dig into their date’s brownie dessert, fatigued chefs and managers are beginning to adopt a less accommodating approach. But the people who may ultimately pay the price for this pushback won’t be the “free-from” fabulists. They’ll be those with serious conditions."
................................................................(later in the article)..........................................
“People have to understand why it took us so long to get restaurants up to speed,” she says. “It was like getting an ocean liner to change course. We don’t want to go backward because the restaurant industry can’t trust that people are really being honest.”
Every time the cooks see the word “allergy,” they have to assume the customer’s condition is life-threatening. The big danger is cross contamination, where an allergen is inadvertently transferred from one dish to another, often through a shared cutting board or utensil, or through the oil in the fryer or even food dust in the air.
That means with every allergy, the action must stop in this kitchen jammed with cooks and dishwashers. The cooks consult a printed breakdown of ingredients in each dish to make sure the allergen isn’t hiding out in a component. They either grab new cutting boards, knives, and tongs or put theirs through the sanitizing dishwasher. And when the plate is done, they use disposable wipes to hold it by the edge.
Imagine doing that repeatedly across a breathless night, disrupting the choreography of the kitchen each time. I asked numerous chefs how many tables have a diner asking for these special accommodations on a typical night, and I heard estimates ranging from 10 percent to a jaw-dropping 60 percent."
Helpful websites.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shellfish-allergy/basics/definition/con-20032093
http://acaai.org/allergies/types/food-allergies/types-food-allergy/shellfish-allergy
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