Red, hot and itchy after a tuna steak, or hives after sushi? With tuna, two things can cause that: an IgE allergy to tuna protein, or histamine from fish that was not kept cold. Our test checks your blood for IgE to tuna parvalbumin, the main tuna allergen, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, next to seven other fish.
Tuna is a bony fish. Its main allergen is parvalbumin, a small muscle protein called Thu a 1 in yellowfin tuna. Parvalbumins from different fish look alike, so IgE to tuna often comes with IgE to cod, salmon or mackerel.
Tuna, like mackerel, tends to contain less parvalbumin than white fish such as cod. Some people who react to other fish say they eat canned tuna without problems. That is a reported pattern, not a rule, and never something to test on your own.
Tuna is one of the most common causes of scombroid poisoning. When tuna warms up after the catch, bacteria make histamine, and cooking or canning does not remove it. Eating it can cause flushing, headache, a fast heartbeat and a rash in anyone. That is food poisoning, not an allergy, and it does not show up as IgE.
A clue: histamine poisoning often hits several people at the same meal, and the same tuna from another batch causes no trouble. An IgE allergy tends to repeat every time.
Reactions people describe after eating fish include itching in the mouth, hives, swollen lips, stomach cramps, vomiting and wheezing. They usually start within minutes to two hours.
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 tuna parvalbumin, a single protein (molecular component). There is no whole tuna extract on the panel. Cod, salmon, herring, mackerel, carp, swordfish and thornback ray are on the same panel of 300 allergens and allergen components.
Your lab report gives the value a class from Negative to Very high. That shows sensitisation, not a diagnosis. Discuss the result 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.
Yes, some people react to one fish and tolerate others. More often, though, sensitisation covers several fish. Testing tuna next to seven other fish shows your pattern, which a doctor can read with your history.
Tuna tends to contain less parvalbumin than white fish, and canning changes proteins. Some people who react to other fish report no problems with canned tuna. Do not try it without medical advice.
Possibly, but tuna that was not kept cold can build up histamine and cause flushing, headache and a rash in anyone. That is food poisoning, not an IgE allergy. A test shows whether your blood has IgE to tuna and other fish.
