Has anyone else ever experienced a mysterious 1-time allergic reaction to strawb!
Question:
Has anyone else ever experienced a mysterious 1-time allergic reaction to strawberries, shrimp &/or oysters?!?
I've eaten these foods them many, many times since childhood w/o incident. However, ONCE time in my adult life, I experienced allergic reactions after eating these familiar foods: at age 19 immediately after consuming strawberries (lots!) I broke out in hives all over my body; at 29 I ate shrimp parmesan at a restaurant & developed hives on my face & arms while still eating my meal!; at 31, I ate oysters (from a fancy NYC restaurant!) & almost immeditely my lips swelled & my gums bled. How could someone have an allergy so infrequently? FYI I've eaten all these foods since then, many times, without any adverse reaction whatsoever!
Answers:
Some thoughts on your symptoms:
Regarding seafood, toxins in the water and histamines that occur if the seafood is slightly spoiled might produce the symptoms you listed; therefore you may have had a reaction, but not an allergic reaction. Thorough cooking may also destroy the proteins in the seafood that cause allergy, so your seafood might have simply been undercooked. Interestingly, people may be allergic to the bones and skin of shrimp, but not the meat. In other words, you may not be allergic to seafood!
Regarding strawberry allergies, it is believed children can outgrow this allergy. At 19, you were not exactly a child, but very occasionally adults can outgrow this allergy too. Interestingly, it is believed strawberry allergy is related to the "red" in the strawberries.