The most common form of food allergy among children is egg allergy. People with egg allergy will have hypersensitivity to egg York or white or both, causing reaction to the immune system.egg allergy occurs when a person’s immune system overreacts to the proteins present in the egg, the body then creates antibodies and releases chemical called histamine in order to protect from the protein. These chemicals cause the symptoms of egg allergy. Egg allergy can cause mild as well as serious reaction. Mild symptoms include skin rash where as the serious ones may be life threatening like difficulty in breathing called anaphylaxis.
Also read: Wheat allergy symptoms
Egg Allergy Symptoms
People may see the symptoms of egg allergy immediately after consuming eggs or sometimes by mere touching an egg. These symptoms may vary from person to person. Mostly persons with chicken allergy also suffer from egg allergy.
Always consult a doctor if you see the following symptoms after eating an egg
- Skin hives
- Swelling of skin
- Redness and rashes
- Vomiting
- Stomach pain
- Runny and sneezing nose
- Difficulty in breathing or
Also read: Tomato allergy symptoms
Diagnosis
Skin prick test
If any of the above symptoms are visible among you or your child consult a doctor. The egg allergy can be diagnosed using a skin prick test. This involves placing a small amount of egg protein on the back of forearm and pricking the skin. The result will be positive if raises and reddish spot appears indicating egg allergy. Depending on the protein in the liquid, skin-prick tests can determine whether your allergy is to egg white proteins or egg yolk proteins. Allergy to egg white proteins is most common.
Blood test
Egg allergy can also be diagnosed through blood test. Blood samples will be sent to laboratory and test will be conducted to check the presence of IGE antibodies.
Food challenge test
In some cases, positive results of skin and blood tests aren’t enough to prove that symptoms are being caused by eggs. So doctors may do a food challenge to help diagnose the allergy. In a food challenge, the child will eat foods that contain eggs while being very closely watched by the doctor. If symptoms appear after eating egg products, it’s likely the child has an egg allergy. Because of the possibility that a reaction could be severe, this test is conducted in your allergist’s office with emergency equipment and medication on hand.
How to skip egg allergy?
The best way to skip egg allergy is to avoid foods that contains eggs. In most of the dishes egg is the hidden ingredient like in ice creams, pasta, salads etc, always be careful while having these food items.
When dining in a restaurant ask for the ingredients available in the food you have ordered. Eggs are the key component in most of the dishes so make sure that you order egg less dishes.
When buying packed and processed food always check the label carefully. Ingredients in packaged food product may change without warning, so check ingredient statements carefully every time you purchase. Following are the different forms of egg that will be used in packed food, always check the label carefully before buying.
- Egg white
- Egg York
- Dried egg
- Egg solids
- Powdered egg
- Whole egg
The following ingredients also should be avoided if you have egg allergy symptoms:
- albumin
- globulin
- livetin
- lysozyme
- ovalbumin
- ovoglobulin
- ovomucin
- ovomucoid
- ovotransferrin
- ovovitella
- ovovitellin
- silici albuminate
- simplesse
- vitellin