Safe Foods for an Egg Allergy

[tiddlytoes]

Hello all,

It's very rare that I ever post anywhere but I could really do with some firsthand experience regarding foods that are safe for a toddler with a possible egg allergy.

Today my son (2y) has been referred to a local paediatric allergy clinic. I've no idea how long that'll take, but the GP has sent us away with two epi-pens in the meantime.

Sitting here thinking about what to avoid, I've quickly realised that I'm going to be reading labels forever more!

Can anyone steer me in the direction of a helpful resource? Are there any foods that have a sneaky bit of egg in that I may naively overlook? Literally any advice would be great to get me started.

Thank you! Xx

When you start having to avoid an allergen I found it very overwhelming. It does get easier though OP but yes, you’re right, you are probably going to be reading an awful lot of labels

Sainsbury’s produce a regular list of foods they sell that don’t contain egg, which might help. There’s a few recipes here and I found places like Pizza Express had excellent allergy advice so eating out can still be possible.

One of DS’s friends had a severe allergy and the DM used to carry baby wipes to wipe the other children’s hands after they ate so that she didn’t get touched by the offending food. None of us minded as it kept her safe.

Good morning,

Thank you so much for your reply.

Since posting, I've been reading labels It's not as bad as I thought. The difficulty is the stuff already in the house that my son knows about and often asks for. We'll get there.

Pretty sure that if it is an allergy it's a mild one so far. No anaphylaxis, just red markings around his mouth if say mayonnaise has touched the skin (welts following the line of mayo), and a possible bellyache last week when he had a minute bit of eggy bread (he's never really liked eggy meals).

I gave up eggs for about 5 years, way back when, because they gave me awful tummy aches. After such a long break, I slowly reintroduced them into my diet and I don't have any issues now. My mum has a similar reaction.

Think I just panicked a bit after looking at the epi-pen

I've since read that some people can't even be around others who've recently eaten egg - so I don't blame your friend with the wipes! She must've been petrified, bless her.

Anyhoo, thanks again for your reply; much appreciated. X

Have you been referred to a Paediatric Dietician too?

My dd is allergic to eggs although less so now at 12 than she was as a toddler.
Things to watch out for:

Ice cream - often good quality homemade style ice cream has a custard base so isn't safe but the white kind you get in a cone is usually fine.

Instant gravy granules - some have egg.

Pesto - some jars of pesto have egg.

Cheaper biscuits are often free of egg whereas more expensive ones often contain egg.

There are no hard and fast rules and sometimes ingredients change so it's always worth checking.

My dd's first reaction was red welts around mouth after a taste of scrambled egg.

Her worst reaction was to a splash of egg white on the skin. Her face completely swelled up so much so that you could barely see her eyes and she came out in hives all over.

Luckily Piriton has always worked quickly on her reactions.

No. No dietician referral as yet. I guess that may be an option when/if the allergy is confirmed.

Thanks for the eggy tips! That's good news about the Mr Whippy style ice cream, not that he's a huge fan of the cool stuff anyway. It's funny, thinking back, he's not keen on many foods that contain eggs... wonder if he's made the link before us?

This has come at an awful time: we're just trying to wean him off omeprazole (silent reflux and Sandifer Syndrome), there's the possible egg allergy, he's got a virus and now he's developed a rash on his arms and legs mainly (hoping that's just roseola!).

Anyhoo, thank you for your help - it's very reassuring. X

tea cakes/hot cross buns can be glazed in egg, as can pies.

aldi sorbet has egg in.

icecream
sausages
burgers
chicken nuggets,
some cookies
some cheese and pickle sandwiches.
some egg replacer has egg in. check carefully

once you get the hang of it egg is not so difficult to manage. (mind you ours is not anaphylactic, we save that for pistachio)

co-op do vegan sandwiches.

eggs are relatively easy to avoid. and there are plenty of substitutes.
it's a statutory allergen, so all foods containing them have to be labelled in bold.

there are a few surprises though, some hard cheeses contain egg (the rind is sealed with egg white)

Keep your eyes peeled for vegan baked goods, worth doing a Google search for something along the lines of "surprising vegan finds" as they'll all be egg (and dairy) free. Things may have changed so please double check but coop doughnuts are egg free as are some Morrisons cakes. My son was egg free until 5 (when he outgrew it) and this was certainly the case up until a couple of years ago, can't imagine it will have changed much, and hope that you find lots of new things to distract from the things that your little one now can't have xx