Egg Allergy

Posted on January 8, 2008 in Latest News

Egg Allergy is another very common form of Allergy. It is prevalent both in children and adults. People experience allergic reactions after a few minutes or hours of eating eggs or foods containing eggs.

Symptoms of Egg Allergy
Symptoms of Egg Allergy may surface within minutes or a few hours after consuming eggs or foods containing eggs. These symptoms are common food allergy symptoms like skin inflammation, hives, allergic nasal inflammation, wheezing, runny nose, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Anaphylactic symptoms would be constriction of airways and breathing, swelling of throat causing difficulty in breathing, severe drop in blood pressure, dizziness and loss of consciousness.

Causes of Egg Allergy
Egg allergy occurs when your Immune system identifies certain egg proteins as harmful substances and produces of antibodies to neutralize the allergen(egg protein). When you eat egg next time,  the body recognizes the allergen and releases histamine and other chemicals. Histamine and other chemicals lead to allergy and anaphylactic symptoms.

Diagnosis of Egg Allergy
Like all food allergies, the doctor diagnoses egg allergy with a simple skin test where the skin is pricked and exposed to small amount of egg proteins. If the test results in a hive or a bump, your sensitivity to eggs is confirmed. The doctor may also conduct a blood test, where he will examine your blood sample for antibodies in your blood stream. This will also provide him evidence of your sensitivity to eggs.

Treatment for Egg Allergy
Egg Allergy is treated with common food allergy medications like antihistamines to combat the general symptoms. In case of Anaphylaxis, you will be administered Epinephrine shot.

Prevention of Egg Allergy
Egg allergy can be prevented by avoiding all egg products. You should read labels carefully in order to prevent yourself. You should avoid foods that mention the names of these egg proteins on their food labels – Albuminate, Albumin, Lecithin, Globulin, Lysozyme, Livetin, Ovalbumin, Vitellin and Ovoglobulin.

Some vaccinations such as Flu vaccines also contain egg proteins. Make sure you discuss the allergy with your doctor before vaccinations.

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Comments

One Response to “Egg Allergy”

  1. Chris Says:
    February 12th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

    I get headaches from eggs, cheeses, etc. Is it allergies or migraines triggered by food?

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