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Allergies, Asthma & Gluten-free The Allergy Blogs • Ask the
Allergist  How Can an Adult Develop Shrimp Allergy?  Q. I’m 32
and just had my first anaphylaxis experience to shrimp. It was
scary: I was wheezing and could hardly breathe. How can a grown
woman suddenly develop a food allergy?  Dr. Scott Sicherer: You
are not alone in developing shrimp allergy as an adult. In our
U.S. prevalence studies and studies in Canada that tracked
peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish and sesame allergies,
shellfish was the most common self-reported allergy.  We know
food allergies are affected by the immune system, heredity,
environmental factors, and the characteristics of the foods
themselves. We know that many food allergies are outgrown, so
there are clearly differences between children and adults. What
we are missing are the exact details underlying each factor and
how the factors interrelate. We only have theories to address
your question.  The characteristi