7 month old reaction to eggs - Weaning advice please!

[Leolady11]

Hi,

My 7 month old unfortunately had a bad reaction to eggs last week, it was our first try of them during our weaning journey, and within 15 minutes she had a rash on her face and neck, eyes were red and she had started coughing. I'm a FTM and totally panicked so we went to A+E which is only 10mins from home and by the time we arrived the rash had spread pretty much all over her body and her ears and eyes were very swollen. Thankfully her breathing was not affected & on examination, the doctor confirmed there was no tongue swelling & her airways were clear. She was absolutely fine in herself and the rash/swelling settled down with the antihistamine they gave her. They said it was a significant reaction and we have been referred to the allergy clinic but I'm now really nervous about giving her any of the major allergens (nuts, dairy, etc.) until we're seen. She has previously had natural yoghurt a few times and was fine, also had a tiny smear of peanut butter twice with no reaction but the nurse at the hospital said sometimes reactions don't occur until 3rd or 4th exposure which really worried me. So I haven't given her anymore of either since the egg incident because I'm terrified. Does anyone have any advice on continuing to wean until the allergy appointment? Should I be more wary of the other major allergens because she has reacted to one? She has always been EBF (and I have always eaten lots of eggs myself!) and now pretty much only has various fruit & vegetables to supplement but I'm worried I'm not exposing her to enough different food groups and who knows how long we will have to wait for an appointment. Obviously anything with egg will be avoided! Any advice appreciated, thank you :)

It's so scary isn't it!

I don't know if you have instagram, but if you do, search for Solid Starts. There is also an amazing app, videos and online courses. They do tons of work around food allergies and the founder and also one of their lead practitioners also have babies with egg allergies (and other ones too) so they are regularly talking about how they navigate it, posting videos when they've had a reaction, etc. They even have videos of their reactions. Even though it's based on the US, I've found it relatively UK friendly and quite honestly nothing has helped me more than their resources.

Good luck

Sending solidarity OP! The NHS allergy clinic waiting lists are 14 months where we are, so we went private for allergy testing. It was expensive but really worth it in terms of giving me the confidence to go ahead with all the allergens (we did it due to him having severe eczema and potential CMPA). The allergy doctor told us that the best protector against developing allergies is repeated exposure from as early as possible so it's really important that you don't not give her stuff, but I can totally understand your anxiety.

Just bare in mind that the allergy skin prick testing only picks up IgE mediated allergies rather than non IgE mediated ones, however my understanding is the latter tend to be less serious however you'd still need to monitor any reactions.

Sending solidarity x as if weaning isn't tricky enough! X

@Hyggeandhugs So scary! I was already quite cautious with weaning and it's set me back massively. Thank you so much for your advice, I've checked out their Instagram and there's lots of info as you say. Just need to filter through it to find what's relevant!

@newtolineofduty Thank you! I am looking into private testing because my confidence is shot & I really don't want that to hinder her progress or development. So having the knowledge would definitely help. That makes sense about repeated exposure, I just hope I haven't left too long of a gap now though... It's such a minefield! Thanks for the solidarity, it helps! :)

@Leolady11 don't worry I think our allergy doctor said to give all allergens at least monthly until they're 5!!! I have a little chart on the fridge to remind me where my little boy is up to with all his allergens!!! X

My 6mo has an egg allergy and my eldest has nut allergies 👋 The positive news is, the vast majority of infants with egg allergy grow out of it so fingers crossed for you.

Firstly, whilst waiting for your appointment, check out NHS and allergyuk.org for accurate and up to date info and research.

In the 2 years between my eldest's first two allergy tests, the advice changed dramatically.
The latest research indicates that all allergens need to be introduced as early as possible. We have been introducing one allergen at a time, with skin contact then small tastes for a few days in a row. The GP suggested we tried this for nuts near a hospital, even sat in the car park if we were nervous.

@RebeccaCloud9 Thank you for your advice, I'll definitely check out the latest guidance, I'm a little overwhelmed & confused with some of the information I'm seeing at the moment so trusted sources are appreciated. Good tip re staying close to the hospital!

@newtolineofduty Good idea!!

Hi my DD had egg allergy and grew out of by early teens. It triggered execema. This is 16 years ago but the allergy started overnight when I changed from size 3 to size 4 nappies I only ever used Huggies or pampers. It took a long time to make the connection as it coincided with us being on holiday thinking it was good out there. Her back and legs were so sore . When she was dry within 6 weeks she was 80% cured. So whatever is in those nappies must be similar chemical make up to eggs. If only I had known…..