Egg allergy reintroduction

[OneDearCyanGuide]

So my 2yo has had a previous allergic reaction to egg ,
first tried when about 7/8 months and I gave them an omelette , they got blotchy on the face and itchy as they kept on rubbing their hand on their eye so I just thought maybe that was a one off .
the second time I made myself an omelette and didn’t wash my hands after handling the cooked egg , I touched the back of their neck and they broke out in a splotchy rash .
when they were around 10 months , my mum tried them with a hard boiled egg as I was explaining how I think they may have an allergic reaction .
well a good 15-20 mins my child went splotchy and rashy around the mouth , as well as hives and then progressed to slight but visible swelling of the ears nose and lips .

they're 2 now and since finding out about this allergy I’ve only given them small bits of highly baked egg products , as stated on the egg ladder , such as scotch pancakes or muffins from the shop , no reaction ! Which is great and I’ve given them a quarter of a hard boiled egg and no reaction either however they didn’t want to other bit so I wondered if maybe it made their mouth tingle etc ?

I’m just so stuck on how to break that barrier and making myself confident enough to carry on , I’m a very anxious person and I’m worried . Just need some advice or encouragement that’s all ,
thank you

Did you go to the GP and get a referral to a paediatric allergy specialist? They should have been able to confirm the allergy with a skin prick test and guide you through doing the egg ladder. I’ve been doing the egg ladder with my son for 4 months now but it’s a very carefully done and slow process

so yes we did get referred to an allergy specialist and they confirmed it but not through a skin prick test or any testing really , she’s been on the egg ladder but I’m just a bit wary with progressing . How do you do it with your son ?

What have you done so far? We did stage 1 biscuit, stage 2 muffin and we’re currently on stage 3 pancake. Each stage took around 6-8 weeks as we progressed from a grain of rice size crumb through to a full portion. Once we’ve done the pancake we’ll do boiled egg

Hey , sorry for the late reply ! We’ve tried cake bars from the shop with dried egg and scotch pancakes , she’s managed to get up to nearly a whole pancake however I’ve noticed she gets a red patch on her chin and a slight one on her cheek , it goes away after 10-15 mins without any other signs . Is this a slight reaction ?

The idea of the ladder is to work up very gradually.

https://allergynorthwest.nhs.uk/resources/allergy-leaflets/gradual-introduction-egg-egg-ladder/

we got this protocol where you take each stage, and then increase very very gradually until they eat a full portion at each stage, and then you keep it in the diet.

if they react, drop back down.

if you’re not sure eg the cheek redness, try again a few days later, ideally in the morning and see if it happens again.

My DS is now a mid teen so it was a long time ago. Very similar reaction to yours. I didn’t do a formal egg ladder but we started with tiny baked into food and gradually increased it. I kept going even though he would occasionally have a small rash very much like you’ve described.

he grew out of it by Age 4.

Anecdotally, friends with a similar allergy who were more cautious have not outgrown their allergy.

Other pertinent information - I’m an egg producer so really really wanted to not have an egg allergy in the house!!!

Thank you @WhitegreeNcandle , hearing that they’ve outgrown it has made me feel more brighter for the future .
i’m planning to keep on going but to lower the amount back before trying more until the mild rash stops .
may I ask , did you find that the egg allergy caused a peanut allergy too ? My little one has tried peanut butter a couple of times but only the tiniest bit as she dislikes the taste even when mixed into weetabix .
wondering if that’s something too , thank you

@OneDearCyanGuide no issues with peanuts but he also reacted to strawberries and dairy. Worse with straight milk but most things with dairy in. I did something similar to the egg ladder where he had tiny bits. He also had really bad eczema. All of which he’s grown out of now. He’d grown out of most of them by the time he went to school.

Personally; I think nature tells you a bit. A rash that doesn’t do any real harm is ok. I remember the first time it happened really panicking. But then nothing really bad happened, he was just a bit uncomfortable every time. I’d rather a little uncomfortable rash than a lifetime of avoiding ingredients. This is completely caveated by my experience that the reactions weren’t too bad. We never experienced any sort od anaphylactic shock and I think I’d think rather differently if I had.

did you find that the egg allergy caused a peanut allergy too ? My little one has tried peanut butter a couple of times but only the tiniest bit as she dislikes the taste even when mixed into weetabix

Egg allergy doesn’t ‘cause’ a peanut allergy, but people who are prone to allergies are often allergic to more than one thing.
DS is allergic to peanuts, some other types of (tree) nuts as well as to eggs.

A medical specialist can test for various food allergies using IgE blood tests and skin prick tests.

Beware of random allergy testing sometimes offered in health food stores etc…I’ve sometimes even seen it offered in pharmacies! Muscle testing or IgG testing is absolutely useless and completely misleading and should be banned. It’s along the lines of a scam really.You need to see a medical professional and do IgE/skin-prick tests if you are querying allergies.

I’d also add…children often ‘grow out’ of egg and dairy allergies, but it’s usually not the same for peanut allergies. Any exposure to peanuts in a child who’s allergic to them should be done under the strictest medical supervision.

Of course your DC may not be allergic to peanuts at all OP, they may just dislike the taste. As they are probe to allergies though, I’d get it checked out I think. It’s possible that they are getting a tingling in their mouth from them but are too young to communicate that.

Egg allergy x 2 and about 1.5k down the drain on tests / dietician etc.

80% plus outgrow it.

Main thing is getting them to the point they can eat baked egg. If thry are happily.eating cake or muffin youve broken the back of it.

Nuts you want a mixed nut butter and regular exposure. Start teeny. (You cam add it to baked muffins or via PBJ on toast.