Living With an Egg Allergy

Egg allergy is a type of food allergy. It is a hypersensitivity to dietary substances from the yolk or whites of eggs, causing an overreaction of the immune system which may lead to severe physical symptoms for millions of people around the world.National Institutes of Health, NIAID Allergy Statistics 2005 http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/allergystat.htm

Egg allergy appears mainly, but not exclusively, in children. In fact, it is the second most common food allergy in children. (The most common is cows' milk allergy). It is usually treated with an exclusion diet and vigilant avoidance of foods that may be contaminated with egg. The most severe food allergy reaction is called anaphylaxis National Report of the Expert Panel on Food Allergy Research, NIH-NIAID 2003 http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/about/organization/dait/PDF/june30_2003.pdf and is an emergency situation requiring immediate attention and treatment with epinephrine. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America estimates that most children outgrow egg allergy by the age of five, but some people remain allergic for a lifetime.?Egg Allergy Facts? Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

A food allergy is an adverse immune response to a food protein.

Food allergy is distinct from other adverse responses to food, such as food intolerance, pharmacologic reactions, and toxin-mediated reactions.

The food protein triggering the allergic response is termed a food allergen. It is estimated that up to 12 million Americans have food allergies,

and the prevalence is rising.

Six to eight percent of children under the age of three have food allergies and nearly four percent of adults have them.

Food allergies cause roughly 30,000 emergency room visits and 100 to 200 deaths per year in the United States.

The most common food allergies in adults are shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and eggs, and the most common food allergies in children are milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts.

Treatment consists of either immunotherapy (desensitisation) or avoidance, in which the allergic person avoids all forms of contact with the food to which they are allergic. Areas of research include anti-IgE antibody (omalizumab, or Xolair) and specific oral tolerance induction (SOTI), which have shown some promise for treatment of certain food allergies. People diagnosed with a food allergy may carry an autoinjector of epinephrine such as an EpiPen or Twinject, wear some form of medical alert jewelry, or develop an emergency action plan, in accordance with their doctor.