Although ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ is common, fortunately, it is not as common as other allergies.โฃ
Its incidence varies from country to country, and around 40% of people with fish allergy had their first reaction when they were adults.โฃ
In ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ, less than 0.1% of children have a fish allergy.โฃ
The protein causing most of the allergic reactions is calledย ๐๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง, and it exists in the fishโs muscle.โฃ
Some species will have other allergens, which might also lead to allergic reactions.โฃ
๐๐จ๐ has been the primary source of studies and information regarding fish allergy.โฃ
Though most fishes contain this protein, this ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ mean that an allergy to a fish will lead to an allergy to all fish.โฃ
Expect to have cross-reactions between fish in the same family (see the tables I made) but to a lesser extent between fish from different groups.โฃ
Studies show that, in this case, the cross-reactivity is moderate or small.โฃ
If there were no specific allergens on the table I made, it is because none has been identified yet, though some proteins have been.โฃ
Some main aspects to note are the following:โฃ
๐๐๐ฅ and ๐๐จ๐ likely cross-reactโฃ
๐๐ง๐๐ก๐จ๐ฏ๐ฒ and ๐๐จ๐ cross-sensitivity is found in nearly 35% of childrenโฃ
๐๐ง๐๐ก๐จ๐ฏ๐ฒ has a high content of ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, so some reactions might not be allergicโฃ
๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ is used in medication, like in ๐ท๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด, but generally do not lead to a reaction in people who are allergic to fishโฃ
Fish allergies typically are ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ โฃ
There are cases in which an apparent allergic reaction to fish has normal investigations.โฃ
In some cases, this might be due to the presence of a parasite called ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ค๐ข๐ฌ.โฃ
Investigation for this parasite should be done through blood tests.โฃ
Final note:โฃ Think of the fish in a ๐ง๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ!