Snail allergies are nothing to sneeze at.
Visiting France, Italy, Spain or Portugal? If you have a dust-mite or shellfish allergy, you may want to forgo the escargot. Those harmless, slimy creatures may be a local delicacy, but the bodies of patients with other allergies appear to identify the innocuous critters as the enemy.
Allergy
An allergic reaction happens when the body inappropriately produces histamines (the body's defense system) in response to a perceived threat.
Onset
Sufferers report allergic reactions to a variety of snail species, from the common brown garden snail to more exotic snails like the burgundy snail and even sea snails. Symptoms may occur both by contact and ingestion of the snail or food containing snails, and may develop immediately or several hours later.
Symptoms and Complications
Asthma (bronchial spasms causing respiratory distress) is the most commonly reported symptom.
Mild symptoms include oral allergy syndrome (affecting the gastrointestinal system from lips to gut) and urticaria (hives). Initial symptoms may include swelling and itching, or redness of lips, gums, palate, throat and tongue. In overly sensitive people, OAS may also appear as sinus pain or runny nose (rhinitis) and swollen, watery eyes (conjunctivitis), trouble swallowing, abdominal pain, lightheadedness or low blood pressure.
Anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition, may develop in severely sensitive people, especially after repeated exposure to snails. Untreated anaphylaxis (airway constriction and difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, abnormal heart rhythms) degenerates into anaphylactic shock and may result in death.
Treatment
As with all allergies, the primary treatment is avoiding contact with the allergen. Once exposed, if any symptoms of anaphylaxis occur, an immediate injection of epinephrine (epi-pen) will counteract the histamine. Use a bronchodilator for asthmatic symptoms.
Other treatments include dietary modifications, surface antihistamines for mild skin symptoms and eye drops for moderate eye irritation. Nasal, oral or injected antihistamines control allergic rhinitis. Beta agonists (bronchodilator) or inhaled corticosteroids treat asthma symptoms caused by allergens. Short courses of oral steroids may treat moderate allergic reactions with rashes, hives or asthma. A long-term course to desensitize the body to specific allergens has mixed results and insufficient evidence to prove its efficacy for snail allergies.
Treatment for anaphylaxis requires hospitalization, epinephrine, oxygen, intravenous fluids, intravenous and oral steroids, or nebulized (fine mist or spray) bronchodilators or adrenaline.
Likelihood of Allergic Reaction
Patient histories appear to associate snail allergy to dust mite allergy. Desensitization therapy with dust mite extracts may increase the reaction to snails. Other snail allergy patients also have allergic reactions to shrimp or other shellfish such as abalone and limpet (mollusks). Mollusk allergies are serious and may be fatal.
Tags: allergic reactions, dust mite, oral steroids, sensitive people, symptoms include