Shrimp -- Not Tobacco -- Caused Vikings' Adrian Peterson To Get Sick Last Weekend
By Chris Emma--
(CBS) Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has a shellfish allergy but also happens to love eating shrimp.
On Saturday, before the Vikings' contest in Detroit on Sunday, Peterson developed an illness due to an allergic reaction to shrimp. He was vomiting enough to the point where Minnesota downgraded his status to questionable.
Speaking of his allergies in a conference call with Chicago media Wednesday, Peterson addressed the risk he takes. The Bears (2-4) host the Vikings (4-2) on Sunday at noon at Soldier Field.
"People will be like, 'Why do you eat shrimp? You know you're allergic to it,'" Peterson explained. "Well, here's the thing. I've eaten shrimp my entire life. When you get the (allergy) test done, you have scallops, you got lobster, you got shrimp, and let's say peanuts they're testing you for. OK, you might swell up more when it's lobster. You might have a very allergic reaction to the lobster than you do shrimp. Shrimp might just swell you up a little bit. See, that's what it is. Shrimp is just like a little reaction."
Peterson does carry an EpiPen with him for the allergy, which is the only preventive maintenance he takes for the shrimp allergy.
"I can kind of get away with it," Peterson said. "I know it is playing with fire, but I can kind of get away with shrimp."
During Sunday's game, in which Peterson rushed for 98 yards in a 28-19 win over the Lions, a report from the FOX broadcast suggested that he became ill when he swallowed chewing tobacco on the team flight.
Peterson denied that report, citing the shrimp as causing his illness.
"Man, I've been dipping for the past 10 years, swallowing dip," Peterson told reporters Sunday. "My body is immune to it. It doesn't affect me at all."
Ahead of Sunday's game against the Bears, Peterson has already ruled out eating shrimp so close to kickoff time.
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