Food Allergies

[Judge Smails]

What's up doc?

I loves me the shrimps and have loved them for most of my life. A few years ago (when I was about 33) I developed an allergy to them out of the blue. Needless to say this bummed me out to no end.

Now, the very first time I had the worst reaction ever. My eyes got swollen and I went to the ER. Since I love 'em so much, this did not stop me from eating them though I did reduce it to a couple of times a year - basically sneaking a few here and there when my wife wasn't looking. The reaction for the most part was itching and hives and a slight tightness in my throat. (No more swelling).

I mentioned this to my doctor and he ran no tests or anything but just told me not to eat them anymore because I could have a a really bad reaction one day and not be able to breath. He told me to carry around an Epi Pen - which of course I never did.

Now its about six years later and I continue to sneak a few here and there. I've noticed that as the time has passed the reaction has gotten less severe and as a result I've been partaking more and more often. About 30% of the time I don't have any reaction at all. At other times, like today, I just get the itching spells (no more breathing or throat problems). When that happens I just take two Benedryl tablets and it goes away. Am I playing Russian Roulette here or is it possible that this allergy could go away as quickly as it came?

Should I just keep self medicating after the fact with the Benedryl or was my doctor right? I'm kind of pissed at him for not feeling like I should get tested or anything. If he thought it was so serious shouldn't I find out exactly what I'm allergic to? Maybe that's why I'm not taking this as seriously as my wife seems to think I should. Did I mention that I REALLY loves the shrimps?

Also, as an example of how wierd this thing is - as I mentioned it's hit or miss. Sometimes I have a reaction and sometimes I don't. About two years ago I had an itching reaction while on vacation. I tried to figure out what happened since I hadn't had any shrimp that day. I finally realized that I must have had a reaction to some mussels marinara that I ate. This was the one and only time that I ever had a reaction to anything other than shrimp and it never happened again with any other shellfich, including mussels. WTF?

[Dr Steve]

What's up doc?

I loves me the shrimps and have loved them for most of my life. A few years ago (when I was about 33) I developed an allergy to them out of the blue. Needless to say this bummed me out to no end.

Now, the very first time I had the worst reaction ever. My eyes got swollen and I went to the ER. Since I love 'em so much, this did not stop me from eating them though I did reduce it to a couple of times a year - basically sneaking a few here and there when my wife wasn't looking. The reaction for the most part was itching and hives and a slight tightness in my throat. (No more swelling).

I mentioned this to my doctor and he ran no tests or anything but just told me not to eat them anymore because I could have a a really bad reaction one day and not be able to breath. He told me to carry around an Epi Pen - which of course I never did.

Now its about six years later and I continue to sneak a few here and there. I've noticed that as the time has passed the reaction has gotten less severe and as a result I've been partaking more and more often. About 30% of the time I don't have any reaction at all. At other times, like today, I just get the itching spells (no more breathing or throat problems). When that happens I just take two Benedryl tablets and it goes away. Am I playing Russian Roulette here or is it possible that this allergy could go away as quickly as it came?

Should I just keep self medicating after the fact with the Benedryl or was my doctor right? I'm kind of pissed at him for not feeling like I should get tested or anything. If he thought it was so serious shouldn't I find out exactly what I'm allergic to? Maybe that's why I'm not taking this as seriously as my wife seems to think I should. Did I mention that I REALLY loves the shrimps?

Also, as an example of how wierd this thing is - as I mentioned it's hit or miss. Sometimes I have a reaction and sometimes I don't. About two years ago I had an itching reaction while on vacation. I tried to figure out what happened since I hadn't had any shrimp that day. I finally realized that I must have had a reaction to some mussels marinara that I ate. This was the one and only time that I ever had a reaction to anything other than shrimp and it never happened again with any other shellfich, including mussels. WTF?

The last question is probably the easiest to answer; guaranteed that they used shrimp shells when they made their stock for the mussels marinara; either that or they just cooked shrimp in the same pan that they finished off your pasta in.

Food allergies are a pain in the ass; you can be tested for shrimp allergy, but you already know you have it; what's the point? The phenomenon you're describing is called "tolerance", where the food causes a milder and milder reaction over time. The problem is, that every once in awhile, you can have a really serious reaction for no particular reason. That's why most immunologists recommend simple avoidance as the best treatment for food allergy. You may be playing a game of Russian Roulette by sneaking skrimps.

If you really can't help yourself, I would recommend at least being under the supervision of a board certified Allergy-Immunology specialist. If you can't find one near you, email me your zip and I'll find one near you.

This is a good website for adults and kids with food allergies:

http://www.foodallergy.org



your pal,



steve