Iodine, Fish and Allergies?

I have a question for anyone who has allergies? 

 

In the menu (of a well known chain restaurant) it listed at the bottom of the menu page; "If you have an allergy to shellfish or Iodine please let us know." 

 

Well, I do have an allergy to the Iodine that is used in contrast media used in Heart Caths, and some other x-rays - so I asked the waitress about this.  She said due to the fact that they were using the same oil to fry their shellfish for some other foods and that there could be some cross-contamination.  So they just wanted to warn their consumers.  I didn't order any fried food, but was curious enough about this that I wanted to check it out and ask you all if you'd ever heard of this before?!

 

In my research, it says there is no connection between allergies to shellfish and Iodine.  I also found that if you do have allergies to Iodine, you could still use Iodized salt. 

 

Have any of you ever heard of this connection?  I think in the past there were concerns, but I've never heard of this recently.

 

The waitress also mentioned that I was the 4rth person to mention this to her today and that one other person was allergic to Chicken, which she'd never heard of...   Just so you all know - you are not alone!!

 

Hugs, Teri

YES THERE IS A CONNECTION!!
I am allergic to shellfish, but I found out that I was allergic to iodine when I gave blood and my arm was swiped with iodine - boy was that reaction bad!!! 4 days, hospital, bad news. My doctor eventually told me that my reaction was not unlike eating 2 lbs of shellfish, when eating or touching 1 peice of shellfish can send me to the hospital!! Shellfish have a large concentration of iodine in them naturally, so if your allergy to shellfish is severe like mine, you may have a connection. I avoid salt/overly salty items, but of course I can't avoid it all. I have had small reactions to things that are overly salty - a burger that was made with some sort of worschester sauce and others stated was too salty - more of throat tightening and nausea than full on anaphalaxis reaction. I cannot have any iodine or iodine-based med's - important to note in surgery situations, as many washes/cleansers are iodine-based.