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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThe only way to prevent an egg allergy is to avoid eggs or egg products altogether. This can be difficult, as eggs are a common food ingredient. You may find that your child can tolerate eggs that have been cooked into foods, such as baked goods.
Additionally, some people who are allergic to chicken eggs are also allergic to other kinds of bird eggs — such as duck, turkey, goose or quail eggs. In some cases, people who are allergic to eggs are also allergic to chicken. This is known as bird-egg syndrome.
Despite your best efforts, you or your child may still come into contact with eggs. Medications, such as antihistamines, may reduce signs and symptoms of a mild egg allergy. These drugs can be taken after exposure to eggs to control an allergic reaction and help relieve discomfort.
If you or your child has a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), you may need an emergency injection of epinephrine (adrenaline) and a trip to the emergency room. If you're at risk of having a severe reaction, you or your child may need to carry injectable epinephrine (EpiPen) at all times.
The good news is that most children with an egg allergy will eventually outgrow it.
- Food allergy: An overview. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/PDF/foodallergy.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2009.
- Kurowski K, et al. Food allergies: Detection and management. American Family Physician. 2008;77:1678.
- Lack G. Food allergy. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;359:1252.
- Anaphylaxis. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. http://www.aafa.org/print.cfm?id=9&sub=23&cont=324. Accessed July 16, 2009.
- Chapman JA, et al. Food allergy: A practice parameter. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. 2006;96:S1.
- Sicherer SH. Food allergen avoidance. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 22, 2009.
- Egg allergy. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. http://www.aafa.org/print.cfm?id=9&sub=20&cont=523. Accessed July 16, 2009.
- Flu vaccine and egg allergy. American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. http://www.acaai.org/public/advice/Fluvaccine_eggallergy.htm. Accessed July 16, 2009.
