Fish allergies are more common and severe than we thought.
As a matter of fact, in the registry of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology of food-induced fatal anaphylaxis, it was reported 1 of 32 deaths was caused by fish and in a report of 7 deaths, 1 was attributed to crab and 1 to fish (Ref 1).
Parvalbumins have to be blamed, as data show that those type of proteins are the major antigens that triggers the specific IgE-mediated immune reactions.
Lately, new clinical and molecular insights have advanced the knowledge and understanding of fish allergies. That’s why we can’t point the finger only at the parvalbumin isoforms, but there are more proteins to blame like enolases, aldolases and fish gelatine, that seem to be important allergens too. These findings were useful for the advancement of the IgE-based diagnosis and also for the management of fish allergies.
What are the signs of fish allergies?
As in other allergies, the strongest reaction would be anaphylactic shock. While milder, less obvious signs include cutaneous and skin symptoms like oedema, swelling and urticaria; gastrointestinal issues like abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhoea; and respiratory symptoms as asthma and rhinitis (Ref 2).
At Nutripanda, we know how important is to assess all food and environmental allergies, however it’s also important to know the cross-reaction foods, that can also compromise the immunological response in our clients.
When we talk about cross-reactivity we mean that some different foods might share similar molecules that will cause similar or same immunological effects like allergy reactions.
Sharing a common antigenic structure means that you must watch out when eating cod, tuna, halibut, plaice, salmon, mackerel, herring and all fish in general, if you have a codfish-allergy or any other specific fish allergies (Ref 3).
It’s worth noting that fish allergies and shellfish allergies are different. Some people are allergic to both, but more often a person is allergic to only one and can safely eat the other.
If you want to be sure about what you are allergic to, please book a Food and Environmental Allergy test at our practice in Edinburgh.