Recovering (just)

Hello Everyone,
I am new to this board but am here because of something that has happened to me only a few hours ago. I am just recovering from a quite severe reaction to something that I ate, it has happened to me once before about 3 months ago whilst eating a very similar foodstuf(singapore noodles with King Prawn that time) this time Thai noodles with king prawn. I have never had any allegy before that I am 33 now. The symptons before were fistly tingling on the lips followed by lumps like flea bites inside my mouth than swelling on the face and hands, rapid heart beat then lumps on the face(mostly) but also on my arms and chest.
This time it was much worse and very frightening, my tongue swelled up and my lips were like balloons I had to fight the reaction to panic, my heart felt like it was goin to come out my chest and my blood pressure went through the roof. Thankfully now four hours later my blood pressure has stabalised and the swelling has gone down but I have a head ache and look a little pale.
I do intend to see my Doctor, Should I take the packaging to him or contact the customers services of the supermarket.
I am thinking of the similarities between the two (can people be allergic to Prawns). But I have eaten fresh Prawns in between times with no reaction at all.
I would like some help on this (how do you diagnose what you are allergic to)?

Thank you in your patience in reading this.
Regards Edward Miller.

Hi there!

Well, a good friend of mine had similar symptoms lately. He went to hospital right away because he was scared to death. Doc told him he's allergic on seafood.

He didn't know that too. He ate fish, prawns, mussels and all other kinds of seafood but he never gets such reaction.

His tongue was swollen and he couldn't get breath, and he got lumps on his chest too.

I've read somewhere where the reactions are reported to be mostly within 2 hours after ingestion or handling of seafood, or even inhaling cooking vapors. Therefore it's recommended that patients with a confirmed allergy to certain seafood are also tested for other species. Also you should avoid any possible direct or indirect exposure to the offending seafood species including handling or inhaling cooking vapors.

Take care if eating out as some foods could have been in contact with the offending seafood species, like making other foods in the same oil, etc.

Anyway, the best way is to visit your doc so he could examine you and determine wherefrom came your allergic reaction exactly. They'll take your blood and do some lab tests and in few hours you'll know exactly wherefrom came this allergy.

Few more questions ... Did you notice any reaction eating fish only? Did you have any issues with your blood pressure before?

What you have experienced is in literature called anaphylaxis. It is when a food allergy causes reactions in which several problems occur all at once and can involve the skin, breathing, digestion, the heart, and blood vessels.

It may not be the prawns but something that they use while making this dish. Many of these Asian foods contain nuts and peanuts. I reckon you should definitely bring that packaging to allergy doc.

I can’t believe you didn’t call emergency or something during this attack!!! I would probably freak!

The only way for you (and everybody else) to know what you are allergic to is to be examined by doctors in their office. They can use blood tests or tests with food that you reported eating. They can inject liquids of food you ate into your skin to check for possible reactions. I believe it would be best if you went to a doc really soon, because you experienced a really severe reaction.

Because of such reaction you need to be really careful and you need a plan for handling emergencies (next time this happens). You will probably figure out this plan with the doc. For such severe reaction, you may need a shot of epinephrine that you will have to carry with you in case this happens again.


I am really interested in what the doctor will find that caused such reaction. Was it the prawns or something else? Did you make an appointment?

Hi there! During my stay in Sweden I learned something about the seafood allergies. It is oh so possible to get an allergic reaction from prawns. They belong to a group called The Crustacean and people are often allergic to certain species but are able to eat other seafood species without any problems.

But I won’t tell you about the seafood allergy but about something completely different.

I would like to tell you about a parasitic worm, Anisakis, that is often found in various fish species and can mimic fish sensitivity. Even though Anisakis doesn’t usually cause anaphylaxis but some cases have been reported especially if fish or other seafood is eaten raw or undercooked.
Your case does sound extreme, you know. You could have died from the tongue swelling and choking. I agree with Jane that you should definitely get yourself examined and get this emergency plan if something like this happens again.