Think Twice Before You Touch That Shellfish!

Wasn't going to write about this embarrassing episode when I did a tour of half the public toilets on Jeju the day after I had some seafood stew for dinner in a restaurant on the island.  But after coming across a recent headline from the JoongAng Daily entitled "Toxin In Shellfish Is Spreading" ( date: 30th April, 2010), I've changed my mind. Don't want your vacation in Korea to be spoilt as mine almost was.

My seafood stew didn't look as good as this though.

Those who love their haemultang ( seafood soup), be careful. According to the news report, the heavy rainfalls this spring have caused toxin levels to rise in some shellfish. Looks like the farmers aren't the only ones who are facing hard times this spring, no thanks to the unseasonable conditions. ( see previous posting).

Extracted from the JoongAng Daily:

Because of the spread of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, harvesting bans have been put on many coastal areas, starting with Jinhae Bay, in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang on March 29. In less than one month, PSP spread north, crossing over Busan and onto Ulsan in the eastern coast, and then to the western coast. Experts say that this year’s poison levels are the highest ever for some areas, due to excessive rain......When humans digest PSP, it can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a choking feeling and can even be fatal in extreme cases....the most common symptoms are “vomiting, which leads to difficulty breathing, and a muscle paralysis."

Fortunately for me, I  only suffered a mild case of food poisoning (must have eaten the wrong mussel or something as my travel companion had no problems and we shared the same dish) and didn't experience any of the symptoms described above. But I have sworn off seafood,  more or less, whenever I was on holiday.
I don't want to sound alarmist but just note in case your mouth starts swelling or a wave of nausea is sweeping over you after consuming any kind of shellfish.

It's been suggested that you:
1.  stick your finger down your throat to induce vomitting
2. drink lots of salt water
3. take Syrup of Ipecac ( if the finger-down-the-throat method doesn't get you retching quickly)
4. go straight to the hospital even though you've followed steps 1 to 3

sources:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919879
http://seagrant.uaf.edu/features/PSP/PSP.pdf
http://samedi.livejournal.com/326273.html