In order to get food poisoning from eating fish there are two basic methods.  The first occurs when the fish is from the reef, any kind of warm water tropical fish that has ingested a poisonous substance.  The fish will carry the poison in its body regardless of being frozen or cooked.  This kind of poisoning is called Ciguatera poisoning.

The second way is to ingest a fish that has been kept in a temperature that is too warm and histamine builds in the fish.  This chemical acts as an alert warning to the immune system when there is an infection trying to attack the body.  If the fish was not handled properly after it was caught and this chemical built up in the fish, your body may have a bad reaction when it enters your digestive system. This type of poisoning is called scombroid poisoning.
These two types of poisoning can affect anyone to eats the fish.  These kinds of poisoning cases are found in Washington, New York, Connecticut, Florida, and Hawaii.  It can be identified by diarrhea, dizziness, vomiting, numbness and nausea.  There can be a difference in the perception of cold, because something that is actually cold may begin to feel hot instead.  This is the warning signal for ciguatera poisoning.

About a half an hour after ingesting a fish with scombroid poisoning there will be vomiting, hives, nausea, problems breathing and the skin turns red.  These look like other kinds of allergic reactions but it does not indicate an allergy to fish.
When the fish you ingested results in scombroid poisoning, the treatment is using a medication that blocks the histamine chemical that has gotten into your blood by using an antihistamine.  If the fish you ingested results in ciguatera poisoning the medications will be specific to the symptoms you develop.  There is actually no medicine for treating the ciguatera poisoning specifically.

The ill effects of the poisoning from the fish that caused ciguatera will last for a week or two while the fish that caused scombroid poisoning will only last for about eight hours.  The times will depend on how much of the fish you ingested.  These types of poisoning are almost never the cause of death.

Try to stay away from the types of fish that do carry ciguatera poisoning to avoid being affected.  These are king mackerel, moray eel, barracuda, sturgeon, grouper, snapper, and amberjack fish.  By no means should you ever ingest the internal organs of any of these fish because this is where the poison is stored.
Never ingest any kind of fish that is not correctly cared for after it has been caught to protect yourself against getting scombroid poisoning.  Anchovies, sardines, mahi-mahi, and tuna are especially susceptible to developing this kind of poisoning agent.

Filed under: First aid basics

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