Fish allergy

One type of food allergy is an allergy to fish, that is, an allergy to a certain protein contained in the muscles of fish. Allergenic protein is found in different concentrations in different fish varieties, some people with fish allergies can eat tuna as the least allergenic variety, but this fact is more an exception than the rule.

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Causes of fish allergy

Each allergy has its own history of the development of the disease, most often the food allergy does not manifest suddenly, but has harbingers in the form of intolerance to certain products from early childhood. The most common causes of fish allergy are intolerance to the muscle protein of fish, intolerance to fragments of fish proteins (allergy to eggs), intolerance to proteins - products of the result of vital activity of fish (allergy to cover mucus, excreta). In response to the receipt of an allergen, the body produces antibodies that attack the proteins of the body itself. Like other food allergies, allergy to fish and fish products is often an inherited feature, manifested in a complex with allergies to other foods and is difficult to correct.

Symptoms of fish allergy

Like any allergy, the symptoms of fish allergy are manifested after contact with the allergen. The most common are various dermatitis, further in terms of prevalence there are symptoms in the form of rhinitis and lacrimation, even more rarely there are attacks of coughing and choking (asthma), extremely rarely food allergy causes Quincke's edema. The only accurate confirmation of the presence or absence of allergies to fish can be tests and allergic tests, as the fish allergy does not disappear when cooking the product, and the symptoms when contacting raw and cooked fish may vary.

The rate of allergic response of the body depends on the state of immunity and the volume of the incoming allergen. Many people are concerned about the question of how allergic to fish is manifested and how dangerous is it? With a sufficient volume of the substance received (when the organism recognized the allergen), the appearance of a rash in the form of red plaques is most likely, the rash can cause itching, as a rule, rashes appear on the folds and on the face (where the skin is more sensitive and any damaging effects). With a prolonged intake of the allergen, the degeneration of the dry rash into the wet can be possible, secondary infection may be associated (any bacteria can easily multiply in a moist warm nutrient medium). If the fish allergy is manifested as a cough, then the cough is dry, debilitating, nasal, without raising the body temperature. In the case of a "cough" type of reaction, consideration should be given to the possibility of coughing to a fit of suffocation and swelling.

Among the cases of intolerance to fish products, an allergy to red fish and red caviar is allocated. The problem of this kind of protein intolerance is a special protein value (high protein, te nutritive index of this product) and the presence of coloring pigments. Quite often, intolerance to red fish and red caviar is combined with an allergy to brightly colored foods and an allergy to crustaceans, shrimps and mollusks. However, with this type of allergy, patients can hope to improve their condition after prolonged abstinence from using allergens and re-start the use of fish dishes from river fish varieties. As a rule, this type of allergy is not manifested when using white river fish.

Sometimes patients claim that they are allergic to aquarium fish. As a rule, a similar statement conceals an allergy to fish food and intolerance to decay products in aquarium water. Food for fish, especially not factory production, is practically a dust of a coarse fraction from protein components, which are strong allergens, even for a body not prone to such reactions. In turn, aquarium water and aquarium filters contain products of disintegration of the results of vital activity of fish, te protein components. Allergy to aquarium fish can be attributed to contact household allergies and its prevention is reduced to the use of granular fodders and to reduce contact with aquarium water.

It should be mentioned that the allergy to salted and smoked fish does not differ in any way from allergy to fish in general, as in salting and smoking, proteins do not lose their allergenic properties, and additional food additives and dyes used in industrial production serve as additional factors for the immunity reaction . When eating fish salted home should beware of helminthiases (in some cases, manifestations of parasite infection may coincide with allergic). The use of salted fish (as a food or snack) carries an additional burden on the kidneys, heart and GIT, which can provoke chronic diseases, including provocation of allergic manifestations.

With different thermal processing of fish, fish proteins can enter the environment, which can provoke allergic allergic reactions in the form of choking, rhinitis (with or without sneezing), swelling. The very sensation of the smell of man is associated with the ingestion of microparticles of the substance on the mucous membrane of the nose and after recognizing the smell in the mind appears the image of the source of the smell. If an allergy is formed on the substance itself, then the ingestion of the protein (microparticles of the substance) on the mucosa necessarily causes this reaction. Thus, the allergy to the smell of fish occurs as often as the allergy to fish, te is just one of the manifestations of this allergy.

Fish allergy to a child

Due to the congestion of the modern environment with allergens, the fish allergy in the child can manifest from the earliest fish feeding samples (there will be no accumulation period). Despite the ease of assimilation and accessibility, allergy to fish in children has the same property of weighting symptoms as in adults. It should always be remembered that from the cooking of fish its allergenicity for the child does not decrease, with the allergy to fish the effect "outgrows" is absent, a small child does not always associate dishes from fish (meatballs, soups) with the image of fish and causes of an attack of suffocation or rash it is difficult to identify, so parents should be extremely careful.

Treatment of allergies to fish

Treatment of any allergy, including the treatment of allergies to fish, consists in stopping the intake of the allergen, taking antihistamines, immunosuppressive therapy, in severe cases of plasmapheresis and intensive care. It should be remembered that in the case of fish allergy, specific hyposensitization is always ineffective. Among the antihistamines, the most common claritin, loratadine, erius, zodak, and edem can be mentioned. Immunosuppressive drugs include corticosteroids. Quite good results showed calcium preparations (calcium chloride and calcium gluconate) as a decrease in the degree of interest in immunity. Plasmapheresis and intensive therapy are carried out in specialized institutions (usually in intensive care units).

Prevention of allergies to fish

Oddly enough, if a person has a fish allergy, there may theoretically be a fish that does not cause allergies, but this statement is rarely confirmed by practice. However, most often allergies are caused by marine colored fish with a pronounced odor, then, by the degree of reduction of allergic manifestations, there is an unpainted marine fish with a faint smell, followed by river non-aromatic varieties. If a person shows signs of an allergic reaction to sea fish, this may also indicate a possible allergy to preservatives that have been used to store fish. If this is the case, then you should wait for the full extinction of the immune response to the consumption of sea (oceanic) fish and try to use a small amount of river boiled fish without skin. In this experiment, self-control and the presence of another person who can come to the rescue is very important.

As with any disease, allergy is extremely important prevention of allergies to fish and seafood. If it can be stated that allergic reactions have been clearly observed or observed in the immediate family, the children are likely to be allergic. To reduce this probability, you should use breastfeeding as long as possible, administer lure as late as possible and supplement with maximally non-allergenic products. For adults, it should be borne in mind that immunity provocations occur when several allergens are combined simultaneously, especially a combination of alcohol and tobacco smoke is undesirable. With a balanced diet, allergy manifestations are less common, as well as benefit from small physical activities, yoga, auto-training. The regime of the day is extremely important.