So the toddler tested positive for a shellfish allergy, which explains the big asthma attack he had after the wife’s birthday feast at Joe’s Crab Shack (toddler is still nursing occasionally).
My question is, do squid/octopus usually trigger shellfish allergic reactions?
Squid and octopus are in the crustacean crowd, just like crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and so forth. So yeah, if you’ve got a shellfish allergy you’ll probably react to squid/calamari and octopus.
It is possible to be allergic to, say, crab and just crab but not shrimp as well… but it’s kind of unusual.
There’s a lot to be said for erring on the side of caution. It’s not like shellfish are a major food group - the kid will have a long, full life even if he never eats any of that stuff. It’s a lot safer to keep him away from foods that trigger asthma attacks.
Thanks. I guess that’s what I thought, and we did err on the side of caution tonight, but the whole “lack of a shell” thing was bugging me.
Actually, you wouldn’t know it by looking at 'em, but they’re molluscs …
I have no idea if they’d trigger a reaction, But I’ll second the wisdom in being cautious
Not exactly. Squid and octopus are not in the “crustacean crowd”. They are cephalopods and are mollusks related to oysters and clams. They still may trigger what is generally described as a “shellfish allergy” however.
Just because it’s always better to be safe than sorry, if you don’t already know this, there are some medical tests involving dye derived from shellfish sources - certain scans, for example. My mom had a terrible reaction when she was injected with such a dye for a scan. If you’re not specifically asked about a shellfish allergy prior to this type of test, be sure to mention it.
Well, yeah, I did know they were cephlapods - and the lobster I mentioned isn’t a crustacean either, it’s an athropod, but I didn’t want to get that technical. As usual when I attempt something like that, I muddies the waters.
Anyhow - if the kid has a problem with “shellfish” keep him away from anything that comes out of the ocean and doesn’t have internal bones if you want to be on the safe side.
(and before anyone mentions it - yes, I know sharks don’t have true bones and aren’t crustaceans, mullusks, gastropods, arthopods, etc. but they do have very bone-like structures and are closer to teleosts than stuff with external skeletons)
Whoa:
Phylum Arthropoda
— Class Crustacea
=====Order Decapoda
------------> lobsters, crabs, shrimp, etc. (If it looks like an insect’s idea of Godzilla, it’s a crustacean)
Phylum Mollusca
— Class Pelecypoda
-------------> clams, oysters, cockles, mussels, alive, alive, oh!
— Class Gastropoda
-------------> escargot
— Class Cephalopoda
-------------> octopuses, squid, Nautiluses, cuttlefish, etc. (calamari included)
From a dietary law perspective, cephalopods are “shellfish” – there’s an internal shell, the “pen,” reduced in size and covered by the mantle but present.
The lobster you mentioned is a crustacean. It’s also an arthropod. Crustaceans, insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes: all arthropods.
Quit while you’re ahead.
Some day I’ll learn to always preview.
I don’t think you can get “technical” enough to twist all that back into something resemblimg the facts.
Oh, screw it, so I’m not an authority on biology, so shoot me. Which is yet another reason I didn’t want to get overly technical on the first post.
The point is that if you’ve got a “shellfish allergy” you want to avoid anything that isn’t a “fish”, as in internal bone structure, if you want to be on the safe side. In this case, the folk practice of lumping all those critters as “shellfish” may be more improtant that their exact scientific groupings.
And watch out for things like “oyster sauce” and such - with food allergies it doesn’t have to be discreet, recognizable parts to trigger a reaction - juices and extracts can do it, too. Read labels. Every time.
Since I am allergic to shellfish here’s a little run down:
I never eat: crabs, shrimp, lobster, clams, oysters, calamari, snails, any insects (but I couldn’t anyway). There are a few kinds of fish that have given me a mild reaction, but these are more exotic types from the asian market. Most other fish I can and do eat regularly. Always be careful buying chinese food, because they like to hide shrimp in innocent things like egg rolls & dumplings. Always break them in half and check before assuming their ok. My last reaction came after the waitress in a chinese restaurant said there was no shrimp in the dumplings. I asked in English and my wife asked again in Mandarin, no and no. l ate one. Broke Dumpling #2 open out of habit and low and behold little bits of pink meat. :eek: I was violently ill for 4 days and still needed a trip to the ER to be treated for severe dehydration/passing out. Be doubly careful when buying “artificial” crab meat. You wouldn’t believe how many companies put real crab in their artificial crab meat. :smack: The only one that I know is safe is Louis Kemp. Also stay out of Red Lobster, after working in a restaurant for a few years I know that cooks aren’t that strict about keeping my steak away from someone else’s shrimp stir fry. If you tell a nurse that your allergic to shellfish they won’t use iodine to clean an injection area, only alcohol. So at home I use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, no iodine. I also stick to kosher salt because there is no iodine in it either. If you have any other questions feel free to send me an email.
Personally speaking, I am terribly allergic to crabs – and only crabs. I am totally unaffected by lobster, shrimp, calamari, snails, and regular-type boney fish, which I eat with reckless abandon.
Okay, nobody’s asked the side question I poked into the thread hoping to find out: what is a “shellfish allergy”? What is it that actually causes the reaction that happens to be present in most shellfish? Are there any other sources of this substance that must be avoided that don’t count as shellfish?
Also there is a tendency for food handlers to mix and mingle all seafood - the fried calamari is being fried after the fried claim strips in the same oil…etc.
I am also allergic to shellfish - Crab, Calimari, etc.
However, I can eat, and truly LOVE escargot.
YMMV of course.
A allergy is usually defined as an inappropriate immune reaction to a substance most people find harmless.
What usually triggers it, in the sense of “what sets off the reaction”, is usually a protein found in the offending substance. Thus, someone with hayfever is reacting to proteins found in pollen. Someone with a cat allergy is reacting to cat proteins, usually those found in saliva or dander. And someone with a food allergy of any sort is almost always reacting to proteins found in that food - as all life contains proteins.
“Shellfish allergy” can overlap with a sensitivity to iodine - which becomes important in certain medical imaging procedures where iodine-based compounds are used. Such a person may also react to foods like nori and wakame which are also very high in iodine.
As already pointed out by prior posters - a “shellfish allergy” may be limited to a specifc shellfish, such as crab, but not other shellfish. Or it may be a general sensitivity to many types of shellfish, presumably a reaction to a type of protein they all have in common. If you don’t know for sure, the safest course is to avoid all shellfish although if a person really desires to know they can be tested for sensitivity to a variety of shellfish types to determine how specific their allergy is or isn’t.
Well this I get. What I mean is what protein is it (or proteins are they) which are found in “shellfish”, exclusively enough that it makes sense to describe the condition as an “allergy to shellfish”.
Thanks for all the info…I hadn’t even considered iodine as a danger, and had simply assumed that imitation crab was, indeed, imitation.