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Hello Everyone,

I got many responses to my post regarding my wife's allergic reaction. Just
to clarify things she is not pregnant. I still summarized all of the
responses because they might be useful.

1) Many people believe that her problem was due to the iodine in both the
shrimp and the vitamin that she took. They warned that shellfish cause this
problem with many people.

2) Many posts mentioned that when a woman is pregnant her body can change
unpredictably, and she can become allergic to things that she once used to
eat without problems. One said: "What concerns me is that the
medical community so easily prescribes things like Prednisone, even shots of
Benedryl without thought to the developing fetus. Please don't let your wife
take ANYTHING without careful research. "

3) Many suggested drinking lots of water to help speed her cure. Cold
showers and ocean water were also suggested as helpful, as was baking soda
and water applied to the rash areas. Regarding her current treatment: "A
short course of Prednisone should help, but it can have some severe side
effects, especially if taken for any length of time."

4) Several posts warned me that she needs to beware of future medical tests
involving iodine injections such as a CAT scan or an MRI .

5)  Many people who responded know someone who has a serious shrimp
allergy, and Benedryl seems to be generally accepted as a helpful antidote
to its side effects.

6) Several people said that my wife needs to watch out for more serious
reactions in the future. One said: "I don't want to be an alarmist, but our
experience has been that if one has an allergy, the first reaction is at
some level basic to the individual.

The second reaction is stronger. That is why people who react to bee
stings are given a hypodermic to use with epinephrine ( I think that's what
it is - it will head off an anaphlactic shock reaction to an allergen) to
care with them whenever there is any chance of another bee sting. I would
be extremely careful about any more exposure. Unless your wife's blood
work indicates a lake of iodine and whatever it represents, she may well
not need it during the pregnancy. I strongly suggest more testing. "

Further: "My world is allergies and kids, however the information I have
been told is if an allergic response does not respond to Benadryl, it has
the potential to be quite dangerous. An allergy is considered to be
potentially fatal is the allergic response includes more than one major body
system, ex hives and trouble breathing, or skin rash and GI symptoms, so the
doctor was saying because it only affected only system, her skin, she
shouldn't be at risk.

I would try to contact an allergist for an appointment and testing to give
some indication of what might have triggered it - the iodine or the shell
fish"

7) This was an interesting post: "Sounds like something in that vitamin may
have triggered her rash.  Personally I would say go to www.americanhs.org
and look at that page for your wife. I would say maybe the iron in the
prenatal pill may have done it also. Before any woman is given a prenatal
pill with iron (which I am assuming this has in it as most of them do) she
needs to have the proper iron tests done. Most doctors do NOT do them. It
should be considered a crime in this country. The tests are simple and
inexpensive and won't be done unless asked for (and often you have to be
very assertive to have them do it). My own health having been affected with
both CD and the iron problem I can help if you need any questions answered.
My niece had the same thing happen to her when she was pregnant and given
iron. The four simple cheap blood tests are: serum iron, serum ferritin,
TIBC, transferrin saturation% Even if you don't think this did it....since
she is on prenatal vitamins those tests need to be done. Most doctors go by
hemocrit and hemoglobin to judge iron stores. Those are not the proper ones
needed. Just wanted to let you know what it could possible be. "

8) Another interesting post: "The only other shrimp story I know is of my
sister's neighbor who broke out in a severe rash after eating shrimp, but
*only* when she ate shrimp shortly after jogging. It was diagnosed as
cholinergic (heat induced) urticaria (hives) mediated by food. Took them
quite a while to make the connection."

9) Also: "In addition to the CD and DH food avoidance, for many years I
have been unable to eat foods or medicines containing sulfites. I get a
really bad pain in my stomach and itchy skin as well, but NOT HIVES.
Usually shrimp that is shelled and de-veined in sprayed with a sulfite to
keep the color good. The vitamin may also have had a sulfite-based mineral
added. I hope your wife feels better and has no further reactions. It would
be good if she did get to the bottom of this reaction as some IV
medications and dyes contain iodine or sulfites and these could be
hazardous if she is allergic."

10)  Last, many people had this experience once and never had it again,
which I hope will happen with my wife.

Scott Adams - San Francisco, USA
Celiac Support Page:
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