u/BagelsAndBacon

Hello! My 1.5 year old was just diagnosed with a shellfish allergy. Approximately 1 month ago she developed a face full of hives and a swollen upper lip after being served shrimp, and we gave her 1 tsp of Benadryl (per her doctor) and the reaction went down quickly after. We got her scratch tested at an allergist this week and she tested a 4 for shrimp, 2 for crab, and 0 for lobster. They prescribed an Auvi-q pen and told us to carry it with us but did not really give us much practical advice and I have no personal history of allergies and am just really freaked out. I asked about eating at restaurants and everything felt so vague (“just be cautious”) but I feel really anxious about where to go from here. Can we not eat anywhere where they fry shrimp in oil? At any Asian restaurants? They did not test for a fish allergy or mollusks because she is so young and didn’t want to do too much but I am freaking out about everything now. We’ve served her salmon multiple times, but has she ingested much? She’s never gravitated toward it when offered so maybe hasn’t really eaten it even though it’s been offered? I just feel really overwhelmed and would love any practical life navigation advice for anyone who’s had a little with this allergy before! 🩵