An itchy mouth after the Christmas carp, or hives after a fish soup? Carp is a freshwater fish, but its main protein looks a lot like the one in cod, herring and salmon. Our test checks your blood for IgE to two single carp proteins, carp parvalbumin and carp enolase, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components.
The main allergen in bony fish is parvalbumin, a small muscle protein. In carp it is called Cyp c 1. It is one of the best-studied fish proteins, and labs use it as a reference marker for fish parvalbumin sensitisation.
Parvalbumins from carp, cod, salmon, herring and other bony fish are similar. So IgE to Cyp c 1 often comes with IgE to other fish, even ones you rarely eat. Parvalbumin also survives boiling, frying and smoking well, so cooked carp still carries it.
Fish have a second, less known group of allergens: enzymes called enolases. Carp beta-enolase is Cyp c 2. In a study of fish-allergic patients, many had IgE to fish enolases, and these results mattered most in people with no IgE to parvalbumin.
Enolases from different fish overlap less than parvalbumins do. So a result for Cyp c 2 without Cyp c 1 can point to a narrower, more fish-specific pattern. A doctor reads that from your whole fish profile and your history.
Reactions people describe after eating carp or other fish include itching in the mouth, hives, swollen lips, stomach cramps, vomiting and wheezing. They usually start within minutes to two hours. Some people react to steam from cooking fish or to handling raw fish.
Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or feeling faint after eating is an emergency. Call 112 (EU) or your local emergency number. Do not wait for a test.
From a finger-prick sample, the lab measures IgE to two single carp proteins (molecular components). There is no whole carp extract on the panel. Cod, salmon, herring, mackerel, tuna, swordfish and thornback ray are on the same panel, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, so you see carp next to the rest of the fish family.
Your lab report gives each value a class from Negative to Very high. That shows sensitisation, not a diagnosis. Discuss it with a doctor before you change your diet.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
It happens, but it is less common than reacting to several fish. Carp parvalbumin looks like the parvalbumin in cod, herring and salmon, so most people sensitised to carp show IgE to other fish too. Testing carp next to seven other fish shows your own pattern for a doctor to read.
Carp parvalbumin (Cyp c 1) is one of the best-studied fish allergens. Because it resembles the parvalbumin of many other fish, it works as a reference marker for fish sensitisation in general, not only for carp eaters.
No. Parvalbumin, the main fish allergen, survives boiling, frying and smoking well. If you have reacted to carp in any form, talk to a doctor before eating it again.
