We’ve been battling allergies with my 2 1/2 yr old son essentially since he was born. After two trips to the emergency room because of allergic reactions (luckily there was nothing wrong with breathing or oxygen uptake…surface hives only…but scary nonetheless) the Drs. agreed it was time to get him tested. Turns out that among the laundry list of things he is allergic to FISH happens to be one of them. When I saw these results I panicked. I love fishing, as most of us do, and the thought of not being able share this great activity with my son tore my heart out. I quickly asked the Dr. if this allergy meant he couldn’t touch fish and she didn’t think that would be an issue. Although if he’s anything like his old man he won’t get the opportunity to touch many fish while actually fishing anyhow. SOOO…back to my question…are any of you allergic to fish (not shellfish…one of the few things he ISN’T allergic to ironically enough). How has it affected you, if at all, when it comes to fishing?
John, my oldest son (he’s 31), has been DEATHLY allergic to fish since the day he was tested for all allergies at the age of 3. If he eats any fresh water fish, his allergic reaction is the same as those allergic to peanuts… his throat constricts and he simply cannot breathe.
However, my son is also one of THE MOST avid fly fishers I’ve ever had the good fortune to be associated with! Like me, he never really developed a taste for fish, so it’s just that much easier for he and I to be “catch and release” fishermen. (I am NOT allergic to any fish, I just don’ t care for the taste of fish, other than sea going types).
Ben handles all his own fish, and always has. The only danger he faces, is if he CONSUMES actual fresh water fish, in any form. Merely handling them and releasing them, does nothing towards his allergic reactions whatsoever.
So, there really is no “big deal” about his allergic reaction to eating fish and his love of fly fishing! There’s no difference between his way of enjoying the sport and that of anyone NOT allergic to eating fish.
Scott Haugen is an outdoor writer and you have probably seen his articles or television shows at some point. His father is alergic to fish and still took the time to take Scott fishing all the time while growing up. Essentially the reverse of your problem. He wore latex gloves to handle fish the times I have fished with them. He is a fanatic fisherman.
I seem to remember he took a course of alergy-blocking shots available to reduce or eliminate the response to some alergens. Fish alergies probably vary quite a bit, but if he has a treatable variety the docs ought to be able to tell.
As a person with multiple allergies, including the peanut and nut throat closing death kind - I’d caution you that it’s quite hard to tell about allergies based on other’s peoples experiences. My peanut allergy only happens if I eat them, but I know other people who get reactions even if they only smell peanuts!
I’d probably be real careful on your first few trips. Maybe get some gloves for the handling part. Maybe fish at a park close to the parking lot so you can do an epi-pen and drive the emergency room real quick if you have to.
Ryan, my son, has eaten fish sticks quite a few times (before we had him tested of course) and he never had any type of severe anaphylaxis reaction…just the hives around the mouth as I mentioned before so I don’t think it TOO serious. Heck, we wouldn’t even know he was allergic to fish if it hadn’t been for the skin testing the Dr. did. But when it comes to the little guy I’d rather err on the side of caution, as he means the world to me.
Now that the weather is warming up I think I will take him down to the local pond and do our first father-son fishing trip (with the Epi-pen Jr. of course)…directly down the street from the emergency room to be on the safe side.
She can eat fish sticks, maybe something in the processing allows that, but any fresh or close to what I’d call normal fish closes her throat and requires a shot. She did a semester in China, and had some trouble because it was hard to tell what was in some of the foods. She survived it.
She is also alergic to the water that fish swim in. Found that out at Sea World when she was little. Splash zone at Shamu, she got a rash…thought it might just be the salt water…took her fishing ,wading in the river, rash everyplace she got wet. Swimming at the lake was also a bad problem. Doctor finally confirmed she’s allergic to something the fish leaves in the water. She can still swim in a pool, but she has to stay out of the water at the beach or the lake/river.
She still fishes. We just use a boat or waders or fish from the shoreline. She can’t ‘touch’ her fish, though. I still have to deal with that part. Wouldn’t be so bad, but she’s pretty good and I spend a lot of time dealing with her catches…
Buddy - that’s really odd…hadn’t heard of being allergic to “fish water” before. Glad you guys discovered a work around. I guess we’ll have to try that out this summer in CO and see how he reacts. However, if he was allergic to “fish water” it would provide an EXCELLENT reason to look into getting a boat of some sort. Surely the wife can’t deny my father-son bonding time while fishing…could she?
I have food allergies to fish and chicken. I can handle both fish and flies. If you put chicken meat (raw without skin) on my skin long enough, however, I will get a rash (I discovered this working briefly as a dishwasher when I was younger). Extended contact with fish flesh may or may not be a problem with your son, but he’s not likely to have any serious reaction to exterior contact. I have never had a problem touching a live fish or handling any kind of fly tying material that comes from a chicken.
My youngest son was deathly allergic to peanuts and bee/hornet stings. Had a few hospital runs cause he wouldn’t kepp an epi pen handy by. The oldest son is allergic to shellfish. He too spent a few times in the ER. I’m allergic to sulfa drugs and the wife is deathly allergic to penicillen. Seems like everyone is allergic to something. Have a friend who says he is allergic to fish including freshwater fish; yet, he can eat tuna fish with no problem - go figure. Best err on the side of caution and have allergy tests done before tempting fate.
At his age I wouldn’t recommend letting him touch the fish at all since young kids like to stick their hands and fingers in their mouth. Also keep in mind as people age their bodies change and things you were once alergic to you may not be later, although it works the other way too. I’m sure you’ll find a way for him to enjoy fishing safely.
When I was a kid one of my best friends wsa allergic to fish. He was a very good anglerer. If he ate a fish it was a guarenteed barf fest on his part. Sooo , I got to eat all of the fish that I caught and all of the fish that he caught. It was a win -win situation for me . Had a great fishing buddy and got all the fish (I was very greedy at the time). Came to a crashing halt when he out grew his allergies. Touching fish didnt bother him at all.
As a kid I had a very good friend that was allergic to fish. If he had even one bite it was a barf fest. He was a good angler too. So it was win -win for me. I got to eat all of the fish all of the time. Too bad for me when he out grew his allergies cause then he kept his fish all the time. He didnt have any trouble touching the fish when he had an eating allergy.
Our latest allergy test yielded the following results (scale 0-4, with 2-4 being considered significant clinical sensitivity):
Pollen/Mold Screen
Cedar Mountain - 4
Oak - 4
Tree Mix - 4
Grass Mix - 4
Weed Mix (probably not the good kind) - 3
Mold Mix - 2
Environmental Screen
Dog dander - 4 (breaks out in hives when our dog licks his face, which doesn’t happen very often because the dog high tails it when she sees him running toward him)
Food Screen
Egg - 3 (though he can eat things with egg in them like breads, cakes, etc.)
Milk - 2 (has been drinking cow’s milk since mommy stopped with no problems)
Peanut - 4++ (had an ER trip b/c of his first PB sandwich but no respiratory problems during the visit and no problems since)
Fish Screen
Catfish - 3
Codfish - 3
Flounder - 4
Salmon - 3
As I mentioned previously, he doesn’t seem to have major issues with fish sticks…maybe that says a lot about the quality of fish sticks we buy.
