Modern Health Observation

In communities and populations in which the allergy was studied, it appears that the prevalence of seafood allergy is usually increases with increasing consumption by the population in question. Conventional wisdom suggests that crustaceans (eg shrimp, lobster, crab and crayfish) and fish are among the four food groups that cause more severe anaphylactic reactions. In fact, in a study which analyzed hospitalizations for food reactions in emergency rooms of American hospitals, the crustaceans were most frequently responsible for the reaction in the elderly to 6. Algunos studies indicate that allergy to fish and seafood would be present in 1.3% to 1.9% of the population. And allergy to fish and crustaceans is common not only in the West, but also in Asian countries, which is common and significantly among both adults and children. In general, allergy to seafood tends to persist throughout life.

Clinical Features
The pattern of allergic symptoms after ingestion of seafood is similar to that occurring in allergic reactions to other foods: Most of the reactions usually occur immediately and are reported on a period of up to 2 hours. Particularly after the ingestion of shellfish symptoms may occur after minutes, and include itching, swelling of the lips, mouth and pharynx. In the case of shrimp, the allergic reaction can be triggered after physical activity.

Cross reactions with other sources of allergens
People allergic to fish and crustaceans often also claim to be allergic to dust mites and insects. It is believed that these ‘cross-reactions’ (as they are known) are produced according to the similarity of a protein found in all groups, calls tropomyosins. This means that although a person who never ate seafood could become allergic to these through contact with other sources of tropomyosin, such as mites and some insects (like cockroaches) which has similar to tropomyosin present in fruits marine.

Treatment
While new technologies and discoveries can change this scenario in the not too distant future, usually the treatment of food allergies, including allergies to seafood, is based on the exclusion of diet food. In fact, the need to indicate the presence of components and ingredients derived from seafood is already mandatory in some countries like U.S., Japan and Europe.

However, it should be noted that regulations in connection with the labels are still somewhat limited. First, although there is evidence for the detection of crustacean tropomyosin (the protein responsible for allergic reaction), it is still possible that consumers have cross-reactions based on the presence of tropomyosin from other insects and mites in the products ( very similar to tropomyosin of crustaceans), which would not be detected by those tests. In addition, there may be contamination of products through the use of own equipment in production lines that are other ingredients, which contain the allergens. However, it is expected that with the development of the most specific and sensitive, it will be possible to detect the presence of allergens, more safely.

It is important to remind that they suspect have an allergy to seafood or other foods that are advised to always seek professional health specialist who can do tests to determine the presence (or absence) and nature of allergy, as well as recommend appropriate treatment.

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