allergic to fish any one else?

[mrpike1973]

hi i have fished for 10 years now have had no problems. went fishing about 2 months ago and had a bad reaction when i was fishing went to the dr he said i was allergic to fish and never ever fish again. so i sold every thing. one week ago i couldnt stand it and went fishing with a borrowed pole. felt fine caught 2 pike no problem then i caught some sunnies then i started getting slightly itchy eyes from the pan fish this old guy comes walking up to the dock and i tell him my little story cant fish he says the doc is full of it said im probably allergic to the alge or whatever in the water. said it happened to him and gets worse in the hot days of summer has any one else heard of this or not. Im one trip away to the tackle shop to buy it all back i know youre not docs but does this make sense

[hotrod1]

Go see a differant Doctor? 2nd oppinion?

[wanger29]

That's just not right. Have the problem both open & hard water fishing?

[NCLaker]

Never heard of having alergic fish reactions from fishing ... I suppose it's possible.

I use to water ski, but had got so stuffed up from what ever is in the water that I stopped doing it. Didn't bother me if I am fishing or swimming, only water sports.

I would get a second opinion, I would be seriously depressed if I had to give up fishing. Hopefully yuo can find someway to workaround whatever is causing your alergies.

[mrpike1973]

hi thanks for the replies i never have had a problem ice fishing. in summer it seems like the panfish bother me more than pike bass or walleye. i would love to go to another doc or allergist but i have no insurance it would cost about 1000 bucks im told for test etc i just felt with all the people on here maybe some one would have heard about it ps if i clean fish pike and walleye never bothered panfish would make me sick how can fish that live together cause that? makes me think

[MN Angler]

The last 5 years or so my cousin has been having reactions from fish. He went to the doctor and found out he is allergic to fish slime. The symptoms include itchy eyes and throat- causing him to cough some and at times his hands may swell. I as well the last couple years have been getting itchy eyes from fish( found out when cleaning some). All the doctor told him was to take an allergy tablet- possibly claritin- not sure if thats right. I myself take benadryl when my eyes itch. When he taks the allergy tablets he is perfectly fine. for some reason the fish that he reacts the worst to are trout. We alway joke with each other about this because we are pretty hard core about fishing especially when we get together. We always tell everyone we look on the bright side and are glad we are not allergic to deer too.

MN Angler

[Sandmannd]

Maybe wearing gloves would work. Also wash your hands after you handle a fish. I'm think you get a little slime on and then maybe rub your eyes a while later and that could cause it. I would do everything I could think of before giving up fishing.

Welcome to FM by the way.

[NDSUski]

My brother is allergic to fish and it has not stopped him from fishing one bit. He is now 27 and we have known close to his whole life. He can not touch any fish/minnow but what really gets him is if we cook or clean fish in the same area as he is. He can walk into a kitchen and know if there has been fish cooked in it in the last week. The easiest way for him to go fishing is to just not go fishing by himself. It is really no big deal for him and I to go for a weekend and for him not to touch a fish. We always have gloves along on the off chance that he catches something picture worthy. We are almost exclusively musky fisherman so I do all of the unhooking/releasing.

Can you be around fish that is being cooked or cleaned?

How about seafood, can you eat seafood?

I have always personally believed that my brother’s allergy is a scam. Not having to ever take fish off, clean fish or put a minnow on doesn’t sound to bad to me.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[cknutson]

I am allergic to fish. I have know since I was very young that I could not eat fish. My tongue and throat would swell up. When I was in around the 7th grade I was helping clean some fish and my hand swelled up so I learned that I could no longer touch fish. When I go fishing now I always have gloves that I wear when I need to handle fish. I still bait my own hook but I am always washing my hands. I use Lindy sportsman no scent soap. I comes in a little white bottle. I believe it is biodegradable so your not polluting the water your fishing in. I also use a hemostat to remove hooks. I still do plenty of fishing. More in the winter because that are not a slimy and smelling and are much easier to handle on the ice. I go fishing for a week in Canada every summer with friends and they do all the fish cooking outside. I also carry an epi-pen just in case. Never had to use it but I figure it cant hurt to have one with.

I am not sure what your case is but you might want to be careful with tree nuts. In my case I have a reation to an oil that both tree nuts and fish have in common.

I am 34 and still fish and plan to keep fishing. I just have to use a little more care and generlly fish with some good friends that don't mind that they will have to cook outside and are willing to clean a few for me once in a while so I can give them to my parents.

[Neighbor_guy]

I have developed a fish alergy in the last few years. 26 years of eating fish or sea food at least once a week then the allergy started. First it was just shell fish, then regular fish as well. For me it is the ability to swallow. My throat gets all tight and my stumack starts turning.

I have not figured it out all the way yet other than the bones thing. If I catch a stray bone or scale I am done. Fish with Y bones are out. Example... I can eat eel pout, but not walleyes.

I have figured out that I can eat smoked fish, like carp,trout, or salmon. But I cannot eat them fresh.

[bmc2b]

Try going out again and take some benadryl beforehand. See if that makes a difference.

[sfd]

Keep in mind that each reaction is usually worse then the previous.

[mainbutter]

wow, I'd never heard of being allergic to fish.. adult onset allergies suck, and that has got to be the worst of them all! I could deal with the [PoorWordUsage] you have to when you're allergic to peanuts or wheat or any of the other big hassle allergies, but to be so allergic that I would have to give up fishing?? Shoot me now, lol.

[Big Dave2]

I'm not allergic to fish but I am allergic to dogs. I have always owned a dog. All I can say is that if the allergy is not real severe, you will just learn to live with it. You can take allergy meds before fishing, you can wear gloves, you learn not to touch your eyes or nose after handling fish. Wash hands frequently. These are the types of things that I do on a daily basis to be able to put up with having a dog in the house, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

[Scott M]

God bless all of you. Talk about a cross to bear...That's a curse like being allergic to beer and sports and swimsuit models all at the same time.