Question: seafood allergies (cross post in TODDLERS)

[MsDolphin]

I am not familiar with allergies, does this sound like a seafood allergy? DS (16 months) last month had his first real diaper rash. It appeared a day after we had shrimp for dinner. I believe it was the first time he ate shrimp. I've made a point to not give him shell-fish since.

Yesterday he got another bad diaper rash and he had had bites of my DH fish (frozen sunfish from Costco) from dinner.

I am a bit confused as we eat alot of salmon (fresh caught from Alaska) and wonder why that doesn't seem to cause problems.

Does this seem like a seafood allergy? Any thoughts and advice would be very helpful.

[scsigrl]

Maybe an intolerance more than an allergy.  An allergy is more things like hives, swelling of the lips, vomiting and that kind of things. 

I would keep up with the salmon and maybe hold off on the other stuff till you can run it past your Dr.

[dollyanna]

Shellfish allergies are totally separate from fish allergies.  Most people aren't allergic to both, but it is possible.

[SweetSilver]

Yes, it is possible to be allergic to both.  According to my daughter's allergist, whitefish (cod, etc.) are responsible for most of the fish allergies, and salmon far less so.  It is entirely possible to not be allergic to salmon but be allergic to other kinds of fish.  And allergic to shrimp but not all shellfish.

And it is possible to have a mild allergy to it and not a serious one which pretty much would put it on par with an intolerance as far as avoiding eating it, but not stressing about accidental consumption if you suddenly discover that the pad thai you all ate was seasoned with shrimp paste (and it is!).  My "numbers" indicate an allergy to shrimp, and I have long known that it messes with my digestion.  So, if the numbers are inaccurate, it still points to a definite intolerance, very unpleasant but not life threatening.  (I avoid it, simply because I *know* what happens!)

I don't know about intolerances, but allergies don't spring up on the first exposure as far as I know, though I know that if you BF and ate shrimp, that can count.  Still, if it is an allergy, it is possible that his reactions could get worse.  Some would take the super-cautious route of cutting out all fish and shellfish, but the more relaxed route would just be to avoid giving him those foods he's had an unpleasant reaction to. 

[franklin907]

Our allergist tests my son for each seafood/shellfish individually because of the possibility of reacting to one & not the other, but just the same we don't feed him any of the ones he doesn't test negative, too. For example, he tests negative to shrimp, but Positive to crab. The allergist said the proteins are so similar in both, it's highly likely you'd react to both. As for salmon, I know of some people who actually react to one certain type of salmon, but not all salmon. Also, my son ate seafood for a year before he reacted to it, so at this point (especially based on you sons age) I'd avoid all of it until you can get testing done. Sometimes kids tolerate it better when they're a little older, too.