Egg Allergy
IgE-mediated egg allergy is a common childhood food allergy affecting about 1-2% of 2-yr-old children.
The main form of treatment is egg avoidance. One of the things this study looked at was whether strict adherence to dietary advice was an identifiable factor in whether children outgrew their egg allergy.
In 2006, a questionnaire was sent to parents of children seen in a paediatric allergy clinic in 2003 and diagnosed with egg allergy.
167 questionnaires were returned. The average age of the children, at that time was 6.6.
- Sixty-eight percent reported avoidance of all food containing egg all the time.
- Forty-seven percent of the children had been accidentally exposed to egg.
- The severity of the initial reaction did not appear to influence adherence to an advised diet.
Eighty four of children had undergone in-hospital open egg challenges, 57 of these were now able to eat egg without clinical reaction and were classified as having outgrown their egg allergy.
Strict avoidance of egg and accidental ingestion of egg did not appear to influence the acquisition of tolerance
Dietary advice, dietary adherence and the acquisition of tolerance in egg-allergic children: a 5-yr follow-up.
Allen CW, Kemp AS, Campbell DE.
Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2009 Mar 20