It is common that during big celebrations such as Christmas or family gatherings, the consumption of nuts and shellfish, mainly crustaceans such as shrimps, prawns, etc., increases, thus favoring the increase of food allergy cases.
Symptoms of food allergy
The ingestion of nuts and shellfish is one of the main causes of food allergy in both children and adults. In fact, it occurs most frequently in children, after egg and milk allergy. The most common symptoms of food allergy are: pruritus, i.e. itching at the moment of eating the food; swelling of the tongue or lips, urticaria, and even the appearance of anaphylactic symptoms or anaphylactic shock, which are highly dangerous and can cause cardiorespiratory arrest in a short time.
Relationship between mite and shellfish allergy
In areas where the main cause of respiratory allergy is allergy to mites, there is a significant percentage of patients who also develop allergy to shellfish, basically crustaceans. This is due to the fact that there is cross-reactivity between mites and crustaceans that causes that the allergic to one of them can also become allergic to the other.
Another type of respiratory allergy can also end up in nut allergy, in this case, pollen allergy. This is due to the same reason as in the previous case, cross-reactivity; a respiratory allergy to pollens can lead to nut allergy. In this line, specialists in Allergology recommend, following the advice of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, that children under five years of age do not eat whole nuts, not because of the risk of allergy, but because of the risk of suffocation by choking.
Before any type of allergy, the advice offered by all specialists is to go to an appropriate expert to study and provide the most effective treatment in your case.