food allergies

[kerouac2]

The latest Doctor Mike video brought up numerous interesting points about allergies.

[mickthecactus]

Glad you enjoyed it. Took me hours to make.

[cheerypeabrain]

Jolly interesting video Kerouac. I've not heard of Dr Mike

4 years post retirement I can still run through the normal ranges for haematological values

[kerouac2]

Doctor Mike is actually a Russian immigrant (Mikhail Varshavski).

[mickthecactus]

Feb 13, 2020 16:02:24 GMT kerouac2 said:

Doctor Mike is actually a Russian immigrant (Mikhail Varshavski).

Well, I might be. You don't know comrade.

[bixaorellana]

I am rather distressed.

All my life I have been a cheerful omnivore, quite happy to try any food and have no phobias nor known allergies. Not only am I not picky, but my stomach is not the least bit delicate.

One of the foods I love -- crave, even -- is fish. This is a food I've eaten my whole life, especially since I come from a state where it's venerated. I like it any way it's prepared, from fried catfish to sashimi. If I had to choose between giving up meat or fish for the rest of my life, I'd turn my back on meat.

Night before last I cooked a filet of cod in tomato sauce with olives and served it alongside capellini tossed with black pepper and a few capers. It was exceptionally delicious.

A little while later I was watching a tv show when I was suddenly hit with the most profound and urgent nausea, barely making it to the bathroom to toss up everything from the soles of my feet on up. A short while later it hit again. Whew!

Thinking about this later, it occurred to me that the only identical incident in my life happened about a month ago. Not only was the sudden onset of compelling nausea the same, but what I had eaten was the same, too: cod.

Looking it up, it seems that "... about 40% of people with fish allergy experienc[e] their first reaction as an adult."

[onlyMark]

You ate cod a month ago. What is the amount of time since you ate it before that? Have you eaten other fish in the meantime?
Is there any ingredient in common between the two cod meals? Other than cod? Was the cod from the same source, e.g. restaurant?
The fish you eat is commonly in your area, frozen?
Apart from feeling sick, were there any other symptoms, like an urge to poop? Any skin symptoms like a redness/rash? Did you just feel sick or were there stomach spasms as well? Have you felt sick, even slightly, with any other meal?

The questions are because as far as I know, allergies don't suddenly happen so I wonder if there has been any indication previously, even if it is a reaction to something else maybe e.g. "One allergy that may masquerade as a fish allergy is an allergy to a fish parasite called Anisakis simplex."
Also, "people with allergies to one type of fish are likely to have (or to develop) allergies to other types of finned fish."
In addition, "You'll also need to steer clear of foods that contain fish as an ingredient..." and the article gives a list of examples - so have you eaten any of those examples and had a reaction, or not?

I have other comments but I'll leave them for now as this puzzles me somewhat. If I became allergic to fish it'd be a disaster.
My gut reaction (!) is that you either felt sick because of cod, or something else. The 'something else' covers so many things the probability of it specifically being cod, or even fish in general, is a lot less than another factor. But what do I know. Just a thought.

[bixaorellana]

Mar 9, 2022 23:21:16 GMT onlyMark said:

You ate cod a month ago. What is the amount of time since you ate it before that? Don't remember. Have you eaten other fish in the meantime? Yes, without any reaction.
Is there any ingredient in common between the two cod meals? Other than cod? No.Was the cod from the same source, e.g. restaurant? Frozen cod from the supermarket.
The fish you eat is commonly in your area, frozen? Yes.
Apart from feeling sick, were there any other symptoms, like an urge to poop? Any skin symptoms like a redness/rash? No. Did you just feel sick or were there stomach spasms as well? I'm not sure what stomach spasms are, but the violent vomiting pretty well distracted me from anything else. Have you felt sick, even slightly, with any other meal? No.

[htmb]

I’ve had similar incidents that I’ve been able to trace to how the particular foods were grown/washed (green grapes) or prepared (beef seasoned with a casein tenderizer at a restaurant). Hopefully, for you, its not a fish allergy, but I’m guessing you don’t want to eat more cod anytime soon to test out the theory.

[onlyMark]

Both bits of cod didn't come from the same packet in your freezer then, they were bought separately?

[kerouac2]

That was my question as well -- same lot of frozen cod or a different one?

[bixaorellana]

Mar 10, 2022 8:12:58 GMT onlyMark said:

both bits of cod didn't come from the same packet in your freezer then, they were bought separately?

They were from two different bags. The first time I thought maybe it had been in the freezer too long &/or that I hadn't cooked it enough. This is the product: super.walmart.com.mx/pescados-y-mariscos/bacalao-marketside-premium-500-g/00750179161019

The pieces of fish inside are vacuum-wrapped. I just looked at the current bag -- expiration date is mid-June of this year and the fish is imported from China, where everything is produced under the strictest conditions of hygiene, respect for workers, etc.

[mickthecactus]

Is cod native to China?

[mickthecactus]

Perhaps it’s fishy Covid....

[bixaorellana]

When I think of cod, I think of Norway and Alaska. Anyway, I looked it up. *shudder* source

China cod is processed in China with the raw material coming from both the Atlantic and the Pacific. ...

Is it safe to buy fish from China?
We have considerable evidence that seafood imports from China pose significant safety risks. In June, 2007, the FDA put five types of farmed-raised fish and seafood from China under a “detain and test” order , due to repeated findings that the fish contained chemicals banned from seafood in the United States. .

Is frozen fish from China Safe to Eat?
Fluoroquinolones, also found in the Chinese fish , can increase antibiotic resistance in humans, the FDA said. The chemicals are often used to battle fish diseases caused by China's polluted waterways, fish experts said." Member since 2005. I suggest that you try to avoid the frozen fish from Asia.

[bjd]

My husband became sick after eating oysters a couple of years ago. Another woman, in her 50s, told me the same thing happened to her. She talked to the fish seller on the market (the stand next to hers) and he told her it was quite commong that people suddenly develop an intolerance for oysters or another kind of seafood.

I would guess fish is less problematic than oysters or shrimps though. But when the fish are caught far from China, frozen on board in conditions we don't know about, then repacked in China and exported -- that's a lot of steps and travelling for fish. Isn't there anything caught more locally that you could eat?

[bixaorellana]

Bjd, buying fish here is frustrating. Where I live is well inland, but the state has a coastline. So, you go to a market and see what seems to be lots of fresh fish laid out on beds of ice ornamented with fresh parsley. But further investigation reveals that you're looking at defrosted fish!

The frozen supermarket fish, all vacuum packed and labeled seemed like a good solution, especially for a person who lives alone and can't use up very much fresh fish at a time. I just bought that and never thought about it until the two barf-the-bacalao incidents.

For the moment, I'm going to have to accept that I might indeed have an adult-onset allergy to cod. But after what I've read about the fish from China, I'd be avoiding it anyway.