A platter of seafood, half a dozen oysters on the plate, and suddenly you’re sick: you’re overcome with nausea and vomiting, which you attribute to a stale basket. But if intoxication remains possible, it is not always the cause of your condition. In many cases, little analyzed but very present, it may be what is called SEIPA, an enterocolitis syndrome induced by food proteins. In short, an allergy to oysters.
SEIPA, a syndrome known in children that also affects adults
“SEIPA is an allergy to food proteins, well known in children regarding cow’s milk proteins or eggs, for example (numerous European and Canadian studies exist on this subject), but which is not caused by antibodies” specifies Dr. Cottet. In adults, the syndrome also exists and can appear at any time during life:
“It causes an underestimated number of allergies, mainly to oysters and other seafood” confirms the allergist.
However, if we are talking about allergies, you should know that SEIPA does not cause anaphylactic, cutaneous or respiratory reactions, but symptoms that mimic severe gastroenteritis. between 1 to 4 hours after ingestion :
- Vomiting first;
- Dehydration;
- Great asthenia;
- Diarrhea.
In fact, no use of adrenaline or antihistamines is effective. “We have to treat this like severe gastro, namely with rehydration, sometimes intravenously, and medications that fight against vomiting” says the doctor.
An allergy probably underestimated
If this SEIPA is little known, it is above all because it is largely underestimated in adults, according to allergists. Indeed, when faced with a food that makes us sick, especially an occasional dish like seafood, few of us consult or seek to investigate the problem further. “There is very little data in terms of epidemiology or cases on adults in the scientific literature. But when we encounter a patient who complains of vomiting a few hours after ingesting food, we can legitimately wonder if this food infection is not rather a SEIPA than poisoning. Even more so if this person is the only one to have been affected or if it happens again a year apart during the holidays. There is still a small statistical chance of this happening.” says Dr. Cottet.
Can you eat oysters again when you have been sick?
Bad news for oyster lovers, if you have been the victim of a bad experience, you will probably have to stay away from the trays in the future: a declared SEIPA cannot be cured.
“If the syndrome generally resolves within two years in children, in adults, recovery is not assured, even after several years of avoiding oysters. The only treatment we have is total avoidance” confirms Dr. Cottet.
And to know if you are really subject to SEIPA, you would have to re-eat the product in question. “but this must be done under medical supervision and supervision, so as not to risk a serious relapse” advises the allergist.
Since oysters only return to the plate once a year, on average, perhaps it is wiser to opt for smoked salmon…