Egg allergy

[HugAndRoll]

Hi, I've just had confirmation from my son's doctor that he has an egg allergy (process of elimination and reactions, she's speaking to his paediatrician (that he has for other reasons) to see if he wants to order general allergy testing in the hospital but as he hasn't had other reactions she's not sure it's necissary).

Does anyone have any advice re what to look out for/substitutions etc?

My DS is allergic to egg (among other things) but he can tolerate it in baked things now. Apparently the structure of it changes a lot when cooked. We did try completely egg free for a while though and used egg replacer, I think it's called 'No egg' which was ok. Some people use banana in egg free cakes. There's a good facebook group called Allergy Recipies which has some really good ideas, or do a search for vegan recipes. I usually buy egg free mayo from a health food shop, it tastes discussing but DS doesn't know any different.
I would push for the tests if you can as your DS could be allergic to only the white or or the yolk.

Yes, baked egg tolerance might be possible in the near future even if not right now.

Custard Powder was invented by a man whose wife was allergic to egg, so that can be useful for binding.

Mashed bananas can replace eggs in cakes and personally I found Orgran's egg replacer best for replacing in baking.

On the whole, it's one of the easiest things to miss out at home. When out and about though, you may find it harder.

might be worth keeping an open mind regarding further testing, food allergies /allergies in general don't come in ones.

does your child have other atopic type conditions? eczema, asthma, hay fever/ tree pollen or others?

all linked and may need further support.

Thanks for your replies.

Asthma and eczema run in our family, he seems to have escaped this though. I had an egg allergy as a baby which I then grew out of so I'm hoping this will be the same.

Other family allergies include bee and wasp stings (my mum has epi pens for this), penicillin and other "icillins", but no other foods. I did, however, have a positive coeliac blood test and I'm waiting for my biopsy referral appointment.

I will wait to see what his paediatrician says but is it worth pushing for further testing based on family history?

DS is now 13 and still allergic to egg.
Sometimes it remains!

Coating things with yoghurt before breadcrumbs works instead of egg.
Ground linseeds, egg replacement powders and lots of experimenting works in different situations when making alternatives.
Albumin is the name for egg white.
Continental cheese often is "set" with egg white - be careful it can be in the most unlikely of things -
Some sweets too - I think its chewits that almost caught me out.
Also don't assume becasue youve had it before that they haven't changed the recipe and added eggs.

To be honest, testing only gives an indication of a possible allergy, it isn't a definitive result. So only worth testing to confirm a suspected allergy, otherwise you'll end up avoiding all sorts of stuff unnecessarily.

What is very useful is asking (when you think the allergy is lessening) for a baked egg challenge (home or at hospital depending on severity of the allergy). Once they can tolerate baked egg, your life is much easier, and also a few studies have shown that eating baked egg (when tolerated) hastens the growing out of the full egg allergy. Heat changes the nature of the protein, so the baking makes it more tolerable.

Re egg allergy - DD1 was allergic to eggs until recently (6 years), and the most useful baking book I found was 'muffins - fast and fantastic here. The book tells you how much liquid to substitute for the egg in the recipes, and they all turn out beautifully. You could cook in a loaf tin as well for a bigger cake, but probably more successful with a recipe with bananas in as would be more solidly bound.

Yes Ilisten, sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that growing out of it was inevitable. It is just one of the more commonly grown out of allergies, and I should have caveated my post more.

Fab thank you. I will check all labels thoroughly, I wouldn't have thought about it being in cheeses or sweets!

ithinkwerealonenow No worries! I am used to dealing with it all now - as is DS although he goes through very fed up phases.

Sadly he is still anaphalactic ( spelling! I know) to egg so although the reaction on the skin tests has lessoned its still a bad allergy.

You are right about the tests not being accurate though as the Dr thought he may have outgrown the sesame allergy. A food challenge in the hospital proved otherwise though. it was fine on his arm but a bit on his lips led to swelling, and he rubbed it and his eyes and so they all puffed up too.

Interesting about the baked egg thing though. I live in hope.....

ilistentothesoundofdrums, if you don't mind me asking how do you help your DS through his fed up phases? I don't mean to pry and feel free to ignore if I'm being a nosy parker.

It's just something I worry about a lot for DD. She is a baby so unaware but I think that as she gets older she will feel down that she misses out on so much. She is anaphalatic (spelling?) to dairy and her egg results are so high I expect anaphalatic to that too and a has a relatively low peanut allergy so I doubt she will grow out of them.

Teapig - don't give up hope, dd1 was severely allergic to dairy and egg, and I thought she'd never grow out of them due to the severity, but she did (at age 6, which is slightly earlier than average I think). She also had asthma, which we got under control, which I 'feel' helped. But equally, it's something you have to hope privately for, not give your child possibly false hope, and don't get your own hopes up too much.

Emotionally, there is no denying it is tough on them (and you). Dd1 is very sensitive, and overly (and irritatingly!) responsible for her age, and I can't help but wonder if that is partly a result of having to be so aware of consequences of food choices from such an early age. She used to get very (understandably) angry that there were all these treats other children could have and she couldn't. A very early lesson in the unfairness of life.

I always used to be understanding, but practical about it. Keep it in perspective, there are an awful lot worse things they could have to cope with - a physical disability etc. And keep a ready supply of treats in your bag to substitute for the allergenic treats that well-meaning people offer, especially birthday parties.

The anaphylaxis society and allergy uk are both good resources for the emotional side of dealing with allergies, as well as the practical side.

Thanks ithinkwerealonenow, that really helps. That's amazing that your DD grew out of her allergies, it's good to know there's a chance even when allergies are severe.

Teapig sadly there is not a lot you can say except to sympathise and agree that its pretty crap.
Although I do sometimes point out that its better than say his friend in a wheelchair, or other problems he could have.

I have also got pretty used to cooking alternatives so he doesn't miss out on things, so that helps too.

That's so true ilisten. Sometimes I wish there was something I could say or do to make it all better but I know there's no magic fix.

I hope your DS doesn't get too down with it, as you say it's best to look at all the ways we are fortunate.