My Wife’s Food Allergy Is Getting Worse

[Mobi]

About 4 years ago, my wife came out in rashes all over her body after eating some crab. This had never happened to her before. She adores all seafood, especailly crab.

Since then the allergy has been getting progressively worse. At first, she could tolerate crab if it was really fresh, but over time she found that any crab would set off the allergy.

Then the same thing started happening with prawns and other shell fish. If it was really fresh, she was OK, but if not she would break out in alarming, very itchy rashes. But as with the crab, over time, all shell fish – fresh or otherwise sets off the allergy.

Being an Issan girl she is ‘addicted’ to Som tum phala and would even put up with the rashes to have her favourite meal.

But lately, she has even stopped eating this as the reaction is too distressing.

Now, over the last few days, she has been very careful with her food, but is still breaking out in rashes. On the first occasion she ate some fish - which has never been a problem, and yesterday she had some squid, which again has not previously been a problem.

What’s going on? Is the allergy slowly getting worse? Is there any treatment and if so where should I take her? Medical treatment in Pattaya is a nightmare. I wouldn’t trust Bangkok Pattaya, and I doubt the other hospitals have the requisite expertise. Maybe Samitivej at Sri Racha?

At present we use antihistamine tablets which seems to take care of the problem after a few hours, but the situation is far from satisfactory.

She told me that when she was a young girl she suffered badly from a skin disease (sounds like psoriasis), and had itchy scabs all over her body, and even her scalp which had patchy hair. Then when she was about ten, it disappeared and she has been OK ever since. Is this connected with her allergy?

Any informed opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Prakanong]

I will ask my pal at work - he is an Oncologist but recenly had a reaction similar to your wife's with seafood.

He was never allergic before, I have eaten seafood with him a number of times. Then one day about a month before Christmas his wife cooked a speacial seafood meal for him. His arm and leg became swollen quite badly and he had to go home from work the next day.

He is very wary of seafood now but just like tyour wifes this developed later in life - he is in his late 30's now.

[Mobi]

I will ask my pal at work - he is an Oncologist but recenly had a reaction similar to your wife's with seafood.

He was never allergic before, I have eaten seafood with him a number of times. Then one day about a month before Christmas his wife cooked a speacial seafood meal for him. His arm and leg became swollen quite badly and he had to go home from work the next day.

He is very wary of seafood now but just like tyour wifes this developed later in life - he is in his late 30's now.

Thanks.

I don't think my wife's limbs swell up. She just breaks out into "hive" type rashes. All over her arms, legs, back - everywhere really. Sometimes it's worse than others, but always large, red welts that itch like mad. It normally takes a while to develop, maybe 2 - 3 hours after eating - usually at it's worst at bed time. She sleeps fitfully, but the antihistamine helps, and by the morning she is back to normal.

[kat]

Apparently, this is how rashes work - you reach a threshold level, which is why they get worse as you get older. The previous childhood reactions could have something to do with her allergy. I am undergoing a similar experience with dairy.

[BambinA]

For allergic problems, many people get allergy from something they used to consume ,and without any problem before ,because it is like the allergen is accommulated and higher than the treshold level. (Animals are the same)

Edited January 7, 2008 by BambinA

[bina]

mobi i think i posted about this before but;

fish and seafood allergies are potentially fatal (anaphlactic reaction) and they get worse with each exposure... its enough that someone else touches your wife's food (not fish or shellfish on her plate) with fingers, forks, or even water that the dish was washed in (issaan style dish washer)that had some contact with shellfish or seafood for her to react...

go to one of the main sites on food allergies, they are very good sites...

my father keeps an epi pen with him due to shellfish allergy, and eating out in areas with seafood is a nightmare as there is a lot of 'crossover' of food molecules...antihistamines he swallows right away but the epi pen is for the reason that he does get a slightly delayed anaphlactic and its off to the hospital. this started with him at age 21 (when he decided not to eat kosher anymore). the only place he eats out in places that are full of seafood is in kosher restaraunts (shellfish is not kosher), with regular fish he has no problems however. when he came to visit at my house, we used a new frying pan and tools only for him since we cook thai and use shrimp and shrimp pastes etc in most of our foods. we kept separate food for him and no one else touched it. we also refrained from cooking any seafood (shellfish) while he was with us since even molecules in the air instigate a reaction with him (like peanuts in peanut allergies).

usually its the iodine in the sea food but there are other reactions too... due to toxins such as in not fresh seafood.

if she had allergies as a girl, it is likely that they return in the same or different form...

u need a good allergist, and do the whole gambit of skin and delayed reactions tests, and then a plan of action...

this is potentially life threatening so dont wait.

bina

[seonai]

Mobi, I'd go with what Bina said. I saw a young, healthy man die of anaphalactic shock after eating tom yam gung a year or so ago - he knew he was allergic but was excited about a football result and treated himself to the prawn soup

Interesting that you said it was iodine Bina as I happen to know that UNICEF convinced the Thai government many years ago to add iodine to ALL nam pla (fish sauce for those who don't speak Thai).

[GuestHouse]

Mobi,

My sympathies to your wife. I started suffering allergies (asthma and lung inflammation) in my early 30s, in the space of one year I went from being an International Racing Cyclist to not being able to climb a flight of stares.

I was treated for ten years with the usual mixture of steroids and ventolin but while working in Rome I chanced upon a doctor who offered 'Allergy Immunization' (Allergy De-senthisization).

Two years later I'm no longer taking steroids and I virtually never need my ventolin, I'm also regularly out for a run of an evening.

The treatment consists of first undergoing tests to identify the allergen that is causing the problem, there are very often several acting agents.

This is then produced as a very weak serum which is injected under the skin, each visit to the doctor raising the dose and concentration until the patient is receiving a maintenance dose.

The treatment does carry some small risk because the patient is being exposed to the allergen, but correctly applied it can and often does give fabulous results.

The treatment has given me back my life - and that is not an exageration.

I recently had a treatment session at the Sametivej hospital in Sriracha (Dr Ratchane Saksrivitaya) - So the treatment is available in Thailand.

I'd also second what Bina has said regarding the immediate precautions you perhaps ought to consider.

Best of luck to your wife and again my sympathies - Allergies dominate the lives of people who suffer from them.

[Mobi]

Thanks for all the advice folks, it has been ver helpful.

Since Sunday, she has been very careful with her food and no more outbreaks. (Well, it's only one day, I suppose. )

I notice that her attitude has changed and she is really concerned about it now and taking sensible steps to avoid the wrong food.

Bina, I suspect you are right about cross contamination. I didn't mention it, but a few months ago she broke out with rashes a few hours after we had some Indian curry in Pattaya. No sea food whatsoever, but I suspected at the time that the curry sauces had probably been cross contaminated with prawn curry- which was on the menu.

GuestHouse, am I correct in assuming Dr Ratchane is an allergy expert? If so, I think I'll try to get an appointment with her.

Any other doctor recommendations? Chon Buri or Bangkok?

Thanks again

[Prakanong]

I just asked the Dr at work who suffer this and he only takes anti-histamine and uses avoidance.

This is not his speciality but the route mentioned by Guesthouse as been receiving some good peer reviews.

[popshirt]

OMG thanks for this information. My boyfriend has been developing exactly the symptoms described here, large itchy welts, especially at night, in large areas of his body and it is becoming worse over time. I just called him at work and advised to not eat any more shellfish (which he loves to eat and which he had for lunch again today) and we are making an appointment with an allergist at St. Louis Hospital (our hospital of choice in Bkk) a.s.a.p. Thanks again. I have antihistimine at the ready for tonight.

[Mosha]

MY reaction with crustaecea is regular , by that I mean very very regular visits to the toilet. Venting from both ends. Before I realised what the problem was I once ended up on a drip feed in a clinic down Sukhumvit 7/1. Not funny esp when flying home the same night. I love the taste, but it's not worth the hassle. The best bet is leave of what affects you.

[bina]

seonai,

actually, shellfish allergy is rare among jews since shellfish isnt kosher so those that keep kosher are not exposed, however, a friend recently spent time in hospital after having a bad reaction to some iodine injection for a CT or some other medical thingy, and she was told that even if she would consider eating shellfish (she wouldnt) she shouldnt since it would give her the same reaction.

my father was told the same. funnily enough, he can eat calamari that has been cleaned and frozen (practically synthentic stuff) no problem, but he really does the avoidance. several times in hospital due to 'chef secret ingredients' -- clam juice once in a salad for instance--because of language barriers like the chef in a seattle Vietnamese restaurant swearing no shell fish in the food-- there wsnt, but there was the juice-- he has become super careful.

he is an allergic person anyway, and has done the shots scenario which reduced reactions to many many things but not to the shellfish...

i didnt eat shellfish until i went past 21 and love the stuff since i know that genetically allergies are inherited but not the form of the allergy. for me, its eggplant. blech........