Egg Allergens

Updated on August 21, 2010
D.G. asks from Sedona, AZ
8 answers

Hello Mommies,

I have heard that you cannot give egg whites to children under 1 year of age because they may develop allergies to it, however a hard boiled egg yolk is fine. My question is if the whole egg is scrambled, can a baby still develop allergens to the whites once they are mixed in with the yolks? Thank you.

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A.L.

answers from Chicago on

I don't know about whether they'll develop an allergy from the whole egg scrambled, but I recommend against trying it. My daughter has a mild egg white allergy, and she cannot eat whole scrambled eggs (or french toast) without a reaction. So I would assume there's enough whites in the scrambled to develop the allergy, though mine didn't have any until a year old anyway. Cookies and cakes she does fine with (except for white cakes and meringue). I do separate the eggs and scramble the yolks for her, it just takes a bit more milk than with the whites in there and cooks up a bit faster. Then, I get the whites mixed with a whole egg or two for DH and me.

Maybe someone will have a more definite answer for you, but I hope my experience helps in the meantime!

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S.B.

answers from Chicago on

My pediatrician told me to start with just the egg yolk and then after awhile I could give my son the white part. As I understand it, the whole thing with waiting until a child is a certain age to introduce certain foods has been debunked, and studies now show that delaying the introduction of those foods does not help in preventing food allergy. But to answer your question, if you are concerned about allergy to egg whites, then it doesn't matter if the whites are separated or mixed in with the yolks, they are still there and would have the same effect either way.

2 moms found this helpful
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W.H.

answers from Phoenix on

MY opinion is that overdoing anything causes allergies. No this or that until they're one then yay, they had their first birthday now we can give him PBJ sandwiches and egg anything for breakfast & lunch everyday.

I think it's ok if they *occasionally* have the suspect food in *small* amounts (if your family doesnt have any problems with that food, of course) and slowly build up to more.

My personal experience is not food related but I think it's the same principle in how your body reacts to an allergen. When I was young we had a cat. (My only memory of it is me letting it out when it was so insistent on going outside, and that was the last time ever....sad huh?!) Anyway when I was a teen, we went to visit some relatives a few hours away and spent a good long while there visiting. They had 4 Siamese cats in a small apt that wasn't well vacuumed. My dad and I started having trouble with our chest and breathing (I also had the weird sensation of my lower front teeth feeling really cold and hurting). My mom said it was the cats, but I didn't want to believe her. However I had to when while playing with one of the cats, it accidentally scratched my hand and it swelled into a red welt with white right around the scratch. My poor dad was sick for a week after that and both of us have been definitely and clearly allergic to cats ever since. (Same thing happened with sun exposure when we went to the beach with my 6yo sister. She still to this day has to deal with sun/fluorescent light sensitivities as it will make her sick and it is hard to be a mom now when being in certain lights make her sick.)

Principle is- if your body has not had any exposure to X product for a long time, then all of a sudden gets a lot - you betcha your body could react!

So, one year old is NOT a magic age - it is just an age where their little bodies are a little bigger and more able to handle small amounts in their system.

Moderation in all things!

One more thing I wanna add is that when a person has a strong dislike or distaste for a certain item (for my husband it's fish & milk) respect it! I thought my husband just didnt like fish/sea food. but after eating a really delish salmon dinner some dear friends made for us, and then seeing him visiting the 'white porcelain throne' all night long, I understand it was more than just a 'dislike' but his body protecting him from something that his body cannot/does not process very well. Same with milk - he is fine with processed milk, just not cold milk from the jug, he has to have some lactaid with it.

When my son was little he refused to eat peanut butter! (darn, because he needed (still needs!) fattening up!) So when he went to kindergarten a few years ago and had the last lunch shift (they had a morning snack) I did not want to send stuff that needed to be eaten cool/cold. So I used Nutella, and all through the year, I gradually mixed a little more peanut butter into it. Now, he will take straight peanut butter but not everyday.

Sorry this is long!

1 mom found this helpful
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R.M.

answers from Phoenix on

http://hubpages.com/hub/Egg-allergy1

"the best thing about egg allergies is that it is another food allergy that is usually outgrown during childhood. In fact numerous studies have been done that shows as many as two-thirds of children who have an egg allergy actually outgrow that allergy by the time they turn seven. "

http://www.chw.edu.au/parents/factsheets/egg_allergy.htm

if you're into all-natural stuff at all, this is a WONDERFUL site on baby foods:
http://thehealthyhomeeconomist.blogspot.com/2010/05/right...
a quote from that page:
"A baby's digestive system is much better equipped to handle fats and proteins than carbohydrates. For this reason, a wonderful first food for babies is a soft boiled egg yolk from a pastured hen. Take care to only use the yolk and not the egg white which contains difficult to digest proteins. "

so yes, everything i'm reading says to avoid the egg white until at least 1 year.

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P.F.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi,

Egg allergies are in the top 8 food allergies list. Be VERY careful giving your child eggs until your pediatrician recommends it. They usually have you separate the egg and give them just the white or yolk first for several days to see if there is any reaction. However, at anytime your child could develop a food allergy. My daughter was never allergic to peanuts and ate pb&j a lot. Then, one afternoon about a 1/2 hour after eating a sandwich, she had a massive anaphylactic reaction and we almost lost her. We found out she is very allergic to peanuts. So, a food allergy can develop even after you have eaten a certain food for a long time. I don't mean to frighten you, but you should be aware that a food allergy can happen at anytime. Take introducing new foods to your baby slowly.

All the best!

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

Chuckle A white is a white even when mixed with the yolk. Why would being mixed in with the yolk make it any less allergenic? If you're concerned about developing allergies, don't feed the white in any form. This is confusing because we do sometimes feed babies baked foods that contain whole eggs. It's my thought that a small serving of baked goods contain very little egg.

My granddaughter was allergic to the protein in eggs and couldn't eat any eggs until she was 4 or 5. She was found to be allergic to several foods when she was just a few months old. If your baby seems to be having difficulty with digestion, I suggest that you have the pediatrician test for allergies now.

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D.P.

answers from Phoenix on

eggs are very very allergic....i would personally see an allergist first if you are concerned. We have alot of allergies in the family and will not give my son eggs until he gets allergy tested.....it is too scary to wait and see while your sitting at home feeding him the food if he will have a reaction.
It is a personal choice....

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A.

answers from Albuquerque on

Just separate the yolk from the white and scramble it by itself or with other baby-friendly ingredients.

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