The dermatology department has received many cases of children with crab allergies! In autumn, crabs are more likely to be eaten with these precautions to be safer

With the start of the National Day holiday, people have used this long holiday to reunite with their families and enjoy delicious food. However, in this joyful festive atmosphere, Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital has welcomed a group of special "children". Since the evening of September 29, the dermatology department of Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital has successively received many children who had allergic reactions after eating crabs, including some severe patients.

At noon on October 1, Lele (pseudonym), who was almost 7 years old, was eating crabs at home. Half an hour after eating, he suddenly felt unwell all over. Large red wheals appeared on his head, neck and abdomen, and he kept itching. His parents gave Lele loratadine syrup orally, but the symptoms did not improve. Lele's face became more and more swollen, and he could no longer open his eyes. His parents rushed Lele to the emergency department of the dermatology department of Hunan Children's Hospital for treatment.

Chief Physician Li Keyao received the patient and after detailed questioning of the family, it turned out that the child had this condition after eating crabs at noon. Chief Physician Li Keyao and the nurse immediately checked the child's overall condition and monitored vital signs. After giving anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic treatment, Lele's condition improved significantly and he returned home smoothly.

Li Keyao, the attending physician, informed Lele's parents that crabs and other seafood are one of the common causes of allergic reactions, and they need to strictly avoid such foods in the future. Lele's mother said that her child had an allergic reaction to sea urchins before, but she didn't know that crabs were also allergic. She never thought that the reaction would be so severe after eating it. Fortunately, she came to the Children's Hospital for treatment in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. She expressed her heartfelt thanks to the medical staff!

Coincidentally, not long after Lele left, 13-year-old Tiantian (pseudonym) also came to the dermatology department for the same situation. Tiantian had a systemic allergic reaction after eating crabs. Chief physician Li Keyao immediately checked the child's throat and the nurse on duty quickly monitored the child's blood pressure and found that Tiantian's blood pressure was only 90/47 mmHg, which was considered to be shock blood pressure. Combined with Tiantian's overall condition, Chief Physician Li Keyao and the nurse quickly put the child on ECG monitoring and oxygen inhalation, immediately opened the intravenous channel, and gave epinephrine intramuscularly. Slowly, Tiantian's wheals subsided, dizziness and dyspnea disappeared, and after her condition improved, she recovered smoothly and returned home.

As one of the delicacies of autumn, crab is loved by people for its delicious meat, high protein and low fat. When adults are enjoying the crab meat and crab roe, the little foodies at home are also eager to watch and drool, and can't help wanting to try it. However, for some children with more sensitive constitutions, some ingredients in crab may cause allergic reactions.

Li Keyao, attending physician at Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital, said that allergic reactions caused by crabs have various manifestations. Mild cases only show symptoms such as skin itching and local erythema, while severe cases may cause systemic erythema and urticaria, and even cause life-threatening phenomena such as anaphylactic shock, acute asthma, laryngeal edema or airway obstruction.

In order to help the public better prevent such incidents, Dr. Li Keyao reminds parents to pay attention to their children's food safety while enjoying delicious food. When preparing holiday meals for children, they should pay attention to the following points:

1. Understand your child’s dietary taboos . If your child has a history of allergies, especially allergies to seafood, you must be careful when choosing ingredients to avoid exposing your child to foods that may cause allergies.

2. Pay attention to the cooking method of food . For example, crabs must be cooked. Do not eat them raw for the sake of deliciousness. Only by cooking them thoroughly can the threat of harmful substances such as bacteria to health be reduced. Even for children who are not allergic, they should avoid eating raw and cold seafood products to avoid bacterial infection or parasites that affect their health.

3. Finally, parents should closely monitor their children’s physical condition after feeding them crabs and other seafood . Crabs and other seafood allergies are most likely to be ignored by parents, and the time when allergic symptoms appear varies from person to person. Some children may experience allergic symptoms within minutes of eating, while most allergic symptoms occur about an hour after eating.

Therefore, food allergies such as crabs should not be underestimated. We should pay great attention to them, be vigilant, and take early prevention measures! Once children have allergies such as skin rashes, dizziness, sore throats, etc., we should seek medical attention in time to avoid delaying the best treatment time and causing unpredictable consequences.

Fortunately, the children were sent to the hospital for treatment in time by their families, and their symptoms were relieved. As the National Day holiday continues, the Dermatology Department of Hunan Children's Hospital will continue to remain highly alert and make all preparations to ensure that every child who comes for treatment can receive proper treatment. At the same time, the hospital also hopes to take this opportunity to popularize more medical knowledge to the general public and enhance everyone's self-protection awareness.

On this day of national celebration, let us protect the smiles of children and make their childhoods full of sunshine and health. The Department of Dermatology of Hunan Children's Hospital will always stand at the forefront of protecting children's health and escort the happy growth of children.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Wang Songming, Department of Dermatology, Hunan Children's Hospital

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(Edited by YH)