11 month old with egg allergy - i'm confused

[lauraherota]

i have an 11 month old and he had allergy testing done and they found he has an egg alergy.  the dr. said since he has had food with egg in it (pasta, biter biscuits, etc) and did not have any reaction, it was ok to slowly introduce him to more things with egg in it.  she said i can then give him scrambled egg.  i am confused.  why does he not exhibit any symptoms if he is allergic?  should i avoid egg altogether just to be safe?  anyone with some experience out there willing to share?

thanks,
laura

[Jimbob]

Your ds might have had a false positive to egg as this does sometimes happen. I would be extremely careful whilst introducing more products that contain egg. I would take it very slowly and make sure you watch for any sign of reaction. It would probably be a good idea to make sure you have a anti histamine suitable for your ds just inccase he has a reaction.

Kelly

[Lolly]

It is also possible to be allergic to egg by itself - the white is generally more problematic because of the protien but cooking changes the protien structure (or something similar!) and makes it ok for some when it is an ingredient.

My LO reacted to scrambled whole egg at 8 months and to a souffle type pudding at 1 year but had had egg in pasta baby food jars before this. We stopped egg altogether on the advice of a dietician but his pead at the same time said he could have things like cake if he hadn't had a reaction. We then realised that egg in products was probably aggravating his reflux so stopped it.

My LO had skin prick tests a few weeks ago which were negative so he will have an egg challenge sometime soon to see if he is still allergic to egg or has outgrown it.

I think the yolk of the egg is less allergenic and some countries advise giving babies only egg yolk (well cooked) before 1 year. Maybe as you have been advised to try egg and he has been having egg in foods you could try just the yolks first - but like pp suggested have the antihistamine on standby. Also I would try new things in the morning so you have all day to watch for/deal with any reaction!

HTH!

Laura

[Spectra]

It could be that the test result was really low.  Was it a blood test or a skin test?  Did they provide you with the numbers, if it was a blood test?  If it was really low, and he never had any reactions before, they may believe it could be a false negative, like previous posters has said.

I'd just be careful when giving it to him.  Like during the morning, to allow you time to watch him to see if anything happens, be prepared (dressed/showered/etc) in case you have to take him to the doctor.