More than one study suggests that there is the potential for some children who are allergic to eggs to outgrow that allergy. Kids who are severely allergic to eggs probably will not outgrow it, but those with less serious egg allergies might. The studies involved carefully introducing eggs into the diet of kids who were allergic to them.
Sometimes, children can outgrow some allergies. This is more likely to happen with kids who have slight allergy symptoms to a particular allergen, and not likely to happen with children who have very severe allergies. A couple of studies suggest that it may be possible for some children to outgrow an allergy to eggs.
Dr. Rushani Satlzman is an allergist at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the lead author of a study that involved an attempt to increase the tolerance level of children who were allergic to eggs. He said:
“More than half of egg allergic children can tolerate hen’s eggs when they are baked at 350 degrees in products such as cakes and breads. Dietary introduction of baked egg by an allergist can broaden a child’s diet, improve quality of life and likely accelerate the development of an egg tolerance”.
Please note that when the children who were known to be allergic to eggs were intentionally given foods that had eggs in them it was done under the supervision of an allergist. Do not try this at home!
Dr. Ruchi Gupta of Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of medicine was the lead author of a separate study that involved attempting to increase the tolerance level of children who had egg allergies. He had this to say:
“Food tolerance was observed in 1-in-4 children, with 55 percent outgrowing their egg allergy by age 7. Developing an egg tolerance is the most common for children, followed by milk. A small proportion outgrew shellfish and tree nut allergies.”
Another doctor, Dr. Richard Weber, who is an allergist, and who is president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology had some important information to share. Kids who show severe reactions to eggs are less likely to outgrow the allergy. He said that severe symptoms include rapid swelling of skin and tissue, difficulties with breathing, or anaphylaxis.
Parents who think that their child might benefit from the attempt to introduce eggs into their diet should speak with their child’s allergist first. Never give a child something that you know that he or she is allergic to! The children in the studies were under the supervision of allergists when they were given eggs, for safety.
Image by Aubrey on Flickr