Food allergies are the most notorious types of allergic reactions that can occur in human beings. They are hidden, can’t be detected easily, and you can’t assess the damage until it’s too late. Therefore, you should go to an allergy center and undergo allergy tests to know which foods you’re allergic to. Here is everything you need to know about egg allergy, a very common food allergy.
Egg Allergy
Food allergies usually occur when people consume certain types of foods that are indigestible by the stomach and that can cause violent reactions in the body. Egg allergy is no exception either. Egg allergy is the flaring up of reactions in the body, due to eating egg yolks, whites, or even a whole egg.
Your skin can break out into hives, there might be a lot of issues with your stomach and you just won’t feel great at all, especially after some time of eating eggs. Egg allergy is known to be the most common type of food allergy to occur in children and adults, alike. Since this is a food allergy, you can’t pinpoint what’s wrong until you eat the reaction-causing foods, in this case, eggs.
The cause of egg allergy is the consumption of proteins in eggs. These proteins are foreign invaders in your bloodstream and once the immune system finds out about this, it will send off antibodies and start a whole defense operation against the egg, which, in turn, can cause severe allergic reactions in the body. Egg allergy can be pretty dangerous, especially if you don’t settle the matters right away. This is why its proper diagnosis is extremely important.
Symptoms Of Egg Allergy
Now that you know what egg allergy is and how important it is to manage it right away, you need to know about the symptoms as well, because they are going to be key factors in identifying the right type of allergy.
Upset Stomach
Your stomach will feel extremely upset. It will feel as if you ate something bad and the effects will kick in within 5 to 15 minutes of you eating an egg no matter if it was whole or just the yolk or whites.
Nausea And Vomiting
As soon as your stomach is upset, you’ll feel the urge to vomit. Nausea and vomiting are two very common symptoms of an egg allergy and while they are common, it’s important to note that the reactions will only get violent once you eat an egg.
Diarrhea
Another stomach or digestion-related issue would be diarrhea. Diarrhea is the passing of watery feces and it can mess up your hydration levels. Diarrhea is considered to be another type of defense mechanism for the body because it wants to expel the foreign invader out of your body, which is egg, but that can take a huge toll on your body.
Hives
Your skin might break out in hives and red patches, that could be itchy and very unpleasant. This is a highly unusual but important symptom to look for, especially in food allergies, because things like hives and other problems are what distinguish allergies from normal stomach pains.
Coughing
Coughing and wheezing are also quite characteristic symptoms of egg allergy. Your chest might feel like it’s extremely tight and constricted and you’ll have a hard time breathing in and out, normally. You will also get severe coughing fits, that never seem to stop and that can be hard to deal with.
Anaphylaxis
In many cases, if allergies can get out of hand, especially food-related ones, then anaphylaxis can occur as well. It is the stopping of breathing and things can take a scary turn.
Diagnosis Of Egg Allergy
One of the most important aspects of food allergies is the diagnosis. It’s crucial that the diagnosis of a certain allergy is correct, otherwise, the whole treatment plan can backfire pretty quickly. Here is what you can expect in an allergy clinic when you go for a formal allergy diagnosis.
- Your doctor will ask you to draw some blood for some tests. This is done just to check your levels and to ensure that you don’t have any deficiencies in your body.
- One way of diagnosing a food allergy, in this case, an egg allergy, is by a skin prick test. In this test, a small sample of egg protein is introduced into your body through a prick that draws blood. This process allows the blood to come into contact with the allergen and the doctor can monitor the changes in your symptoms. If your skin breaks out immediately into raised red bumps, then you have tested positive for egg allergy.
- Another way of diagnosing an egg allergy is through a special blood test, in which you’re tested for immunoglobulin E antibodies for eggs. If these antibodies are not present in your bloodstream, then you are susceptible to allergies.
- The doctor can also try the elimination technique in which the foods that are causing allergies are eliminated from the diet. If you don’t eat a certain type of food that causes allergies, then you won’t get severe reactions either, but the skin prick test and blood tests are more certain ways of determining and pinpointing the exact issue.
Treatment For Egg Allergy
Here are some treatment options for egg allergy.
Avoid Eggs
One of the best things that you can do, to avoid severe allergic reactions because of eggs is to go plant-based and avoid eggs at all costs. A plant-based diet is a lot more healthy and safe for you because there are no traces of eggs in the food.
A lot of the time, simply eliminating eggs from the diet can’t help you, because it can be present as a hidden ingredient in a lot of things. So, it’s better to opt for a diet that’s safe for you.
EpiPen
With egg allergy, you must get an EpiPen. EpiPen is an injection that has ephedrine in it and it can alleviate the symptoms of any food-related allergy in no time at all.
This can be a lifesaver in case of an anaphylactic shock, and it’s also recommended that you keep these injections with you on hand, at all times, because you never know when allergies can flare up.
Antihistamines
You can also use antihistamines for immediate symptom relief. Antihistamines will get rid of the swelling, fever, and runny nose, and these medications can be a godsend for you if you don’t have your EpiPen on hand.
Prevention
There can be a lot of food items as well as medical vaccines that contain egg proteins in them, so you must be vigilant about these things. You want to always check the labels of food items and go for egg-free options if you can.
As for vaccines and medicines with eggs in them, there are plenty of alternatives available that are safe for people suffering from food allergies, but you’ll need to specify that during a vaccine appointment.
Conclusion
Egg allergy can get extremely dangerous pretty fast, so it’s best if you know how to deal with it at the time when a reaction gets too severe. For this, go to an allergy doctor for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention advice if you experience the symptoms.
