Is it possible to develop allergies as an adult?

Question

All of my life I had eaten shrimp with no problem.

But when I was 20 years old, I was in a restaurant late one night eating shrimp. Suddenly, my throat felt like it was closing in and my face and lips became swollen. My face broke out in welts. My ex and I went to the emergency room and I was given a shot and a little later I returned to normal. I ate shrimp again a few months later and I started swelling a little but not as serious as before. Was it an allergy? Can they develop suddenly? That situation really scared me.

Answer 1

yes allergies can develop as we get older and usually if you develop an allergy and have a reaction the next reaction could be more serious  

Answer 2

Lets see, my youngest brother developed nut allergies when he was 1, my other younger brother developed a makeup allergy (face paints) when he was 3 and then oral allergy syndrome (OAS) when he was 11. I developed OAS when i was 6 and then its got a lot worse since then. My dad also got OAS last year and has chesse and tomato allergies his entire life, and my mum has had ashma since she was 20. Allergies and ashma can come and go at any stage in our life i believe, and fingers crossed my allergies will hopefully go away!  

Answer 3

Yes its possible , I use to always take a Tylenol or NyQuil whenever I got a cold  and just one day out of the blue , I was around 25 yrs old and I had a headache,I took a tylenol and next thing I knew I swelled up all over my body and started itching like crazy. My throat started closing and I passed out. Long story short I can not take any cold medicines  and my Dr. tells me that it is not uncommon for someone to become allergic to something.

Answer 4

you can become allergic to anything at any time.

Answer 5

Yes...

You can develop allergies as an adult and substances that didn't bother you before may cause an allergic reaction. You described a systemic reaction to shrimp (anaphylaxis) that is life-threatening. I wouldn't take a chance eating shrimp again.