Allergy moms!! Help! Egg allergy??

CareBear2005 · September 2010

(Repost from PAL:)

So we have had an ongoing saga/mystery of what my LO could be allergic to because of some instances of hives, and also back when he was 4 months, some blood in stool, eczema, etc.

First it was dairy, so I gave that up....it did help his stools, etc. but his eczema has never totally cleared up. (Althought it's certainly never been out of control, I'd call it mild at best so it's not a major concern).

Recently I've started adding dairy back into my diet (he's EBF) and we've had no gastro issues so I'm pretty confident that he doesn't have a true milk allergy...it was probably an intolerance.

Then the hives come into the picture. First they were random, and we could never make a connection...and it would be one or two on his belly, or on his arm...so they were more like contact hives than from anything he ate.

THEN he got licked by my BFF's puppy and broke out all over his face, which was mysterious because we HAVE our own dog and she doesn't cause him trouble. Then the same thing happened with a different puppy, so we thought ok maybe he's just so used to our dog, but he DOES have a pet allergy???

Fast forward to his 9 month MD appt. She decided to do b/w for food and environmental allergies, and I just got the results (of course on the weekend when I can't call to decipher them), but it simply says "MIGHT possibly have allergies" and all the levels that were flagged are not super far out of the reference range....so I ASSUME that means he doesn't have any severe allergies at least. (I will call this week for more info though!)

SO she also told us that he could try egg whites now, and this morning I scrambled some up for him. Due to (fortunate) but unrelated meltdowns, the eggs never made it to his mouth, but some did land on his thigh. About 10 min. later he was playing and I noticed hives on his thigh....I wasn't sure if it was the eggs because he was also playing practically in the dog's bed (lovely, I know).

This might be the dumb part, but I am so frustrated by this guessing game that I took some of the egg yolk and swiped it on his back....then wiped it right off. For a few minutes it looked fine, but then 10 min. later, totally broke out!!

So it's pretty clear he has an egg allergy, and of course now I'm wondering if those dogs that licked him had eaten food w/ egg?? That might be a stretch, but he never seems to have issues unless the saliva actually touches him.

I'm glad he didn't eat them....but I wonder now if he'll be able to eat things with egg cooked in them (like cake, etc.)? Anyone have experience with this?? On the bright side, I think it definitely beats the milk allergy so I hope that he's still fine with dairy! Maybe it was egg all along? Ugh! This is frustrating!

finsternis · September 2010

well the whole first part of your saga sounds like eb: blood in stool, eczema, cut out dairy, symptoms almost completely resolved but not quite. now you`ve got me wondering

maybe i should do an egg challenge too.

the only thing i can think is when you cut out dairy, you cut out almost all sources of egg at the same time [usually]: egg`n`cheese sandwiches, pancakes, egg rice with butter, most baked goods.... so that might explain the symptoms clearing but not disppearing. definitely call the doc mon; the hives from the challenge and the other clues sound like a true allergy to me.

CareBear2005 · September 2010

That is a good point about cutting out dairy and by default cutting out egg....I'm sure I cut WAY down on eating anything with eggs....but I do know there have been definite instances when I have eaten things with egg - brownies, cake, etc. that I know were dairy free but still had eggs.....so I guess it's possible that if the eggs are cooked in something and not a main ingredient that might not bother him.

finsternis · September 2010

i know that`s true for some babies with dairy intolerances, that if the whey is cooked they can tolerate it, so i would think it could be for egg too.

Discordia1030 · September 2010

So sorry to hear you're going through all this, but FWIW I had an egg allergy as a child that I grew out of. I would get violently ill after eating eggs alone, break out into hives, the whole nine yards. If I had anything with eggs cooked in it, lke brownies or mayo, I would still get sick, but not as bad. By the time I was 2 and a half I had completely outgrown it. Also, a child that I nannied for had the exact same allergy as I did and he grew out if it by the time he was 2 and a half as well. GL!

anabell0920 · September 2010

I have no help with the egg allergy but I have a friend that has two of her own dogs and is actually a vet tech so she is fine petting,touching, being with dogs but if they lick her she breaks out from the saliva. So it's only the direct saliva on her skin that does it.

Bride2b2004 · September 2010

I would go to a pediatric allergist. They will be able to test to see what is a true allergy. Only eating can show you intolerances. DS2 has a really bad intolerance to dairy, eggs, & nuts and an allergy to soy.

Intolerances are tough, just try only one thing at a time and monitoring for reaction. Until you go to the allergist I would avoid eggs entirely (seems like he has a pretty bad reaction). But yes, some can be affected only based on the way the egg is prepared.

GL. Food issues suck.

JillBean78 · September 2010

My son has an egg allergy. You need to elimante anything that contains eggs. Especially if it is within the first 3 ingredients in something. It is actually a fairly easy allergy to deal with for the most part, much easier than dairy or wheat! Read labels, I don't give him anything that contains eggs or anything that has the allergy warning that indicates it was processed in a factory that uses egg in other products they produce which means the product may or may not contain traces of egg. Some of the weirdest things contain egg and other things you expect to contain egg (like some breads) do not.

The egg white is typically the cause of the egg allergy, not the yolk. But that doesn't mean to go out and give your son egg yolk. Oh and egg substitute, like Egg Beaters are also a no-no, they are made from egg whites. I've had a million people who think I can feed my son egg beaters tell me to do so and I always have to tell them no, they are made out of egg whites. I honestly didn't even know it until we found out he had the allergy.

Good luck!!

I'd def see an allergist though, if he has a food allergy to egg or anything else you will want a prescription for an Epi pen just in case.

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