Egg allergy

Egg allergy
A boiled chicken egg
SpecialtyEmergency medicine
Allergy & immunology
Symptomsitchiness, rash, swelling of lips, tongue or the whole face, eczema, wheezing and shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, anaphylaxis[1]
CausesType I hypersensitivity[2]
Risk factorsConsumption of chicken eggs, and also of baked goods that have eggs in the recipe.[2]
Diagnostic methodMedical history and standard allergy tests[3]
PreventionIntroduction to allergenic foods during infancy[4]
TreatmentEpinephrine[5]
Antihistamines (mild)[6][7]
PrognosisLess than 30% of childhood egg allergies will persist into adulthood.[8]
FrequencyIn developed countries the prevalence of egg allergy in children under the age of five years is 1.8-2.0%.[9]

Egg allergy is an immune hypersensitivity to proteins found in chicken eggs, and possibly goose, duck, or turkey eggs.[2] Symptoms can be either rapid or gradual in onset. The latter can take hours to days to appear. The former may include anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition which requires treatment with epinephrine. Other presentations may include atopic dermatitis or inflammation of the esophagus.[2][10]

In the United States, 90% of allergic responses to foods are caused by cow's milk, eggs, wheat, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, soybeans, and sesame seeds.[11] The declaration of the presence of trace amounts of allergens in foods is not mandatory in any country, with the exception of Brazil.[12][13][14]

Prevention is by avoiding eating eggs and foods that may contain eggs, such as cake or cookies.[2] It is unclear if the early introduction of the eggs to the diet of babies aged 4–6 months decreases the risk of egg allergies.[15][16][17][18]

Egg allergy appears mainly in children but can persist into adulthood. In the United States, it is the second most common food allergy in children after cow's milk. Most children outgrow egg allergy by the age of five, but some people remain allergic for a lifetime.[19][20] In North America and Western Europe, egg allergy occurs in 0.5% to 2.5% of children under the age of five years.[2][9] The majority grow out of it by school age, but for roughly one-third, the allergy persists into adulthood. Strong predictors for adult-persistence are anaphylaxis, high egg-specific serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), robust response to the skin prick test and absence of tolerance to egg-containing baked foods.[2][8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference medlineplus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference Caubet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Soares-Weiser K, Takwoingi Y, Panesar SS, Muraro A, Werfel T, et al. (January 2014). "The diagnosis of food allergy: a systematic review and meta-analysis". Allergy. 69 (1): 76–86. doi:10.1111/all.12333. PMID 24329961. S2CID 21493978.
  4. ^ Ferraro V, Zanconato S, Carraro S (May 2019). "Timing of Food Introduction and the Risk of Food Allergy". Nutrients. 11 (5): 1131. doi:10.3390/nu11051131. PMC 6567868. PMID 31117223.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference EAACI2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Choosing Wisely: Don't rely on antihistamines as firstline treatment in severe allergic reactions". American Academy of Family Physicians. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  7. ^ Fineman, SM (July 2014). "Optimal Treatment of Anaphylaxis: Antihistamines Versus Epinephrine". Postgraduate Medicine. 126 (4): 73–81. doi:10.3810/pgm.2014.07.2785. PMID 25141245. S2CID 25203272.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Hasan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Urisu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ National Report of the Expert Panel on Food Allergy Research, NIH-NIAID 2003 "June 30 2003.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  11. ^ "Food Allergy Facts" Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Allen2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference FDAallergies2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária Guia sobre Programa de Controle de Alergênicos" (in Portuguese). Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA). 2016. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  15. ^ Ierodiakonou D, Garcia-Larsen V, Logan A, Groome A, Cunha S, Chivinge J, Robinson Z, Geoghegan N, Jarrold K, Reeves T, Tagiyeva-Milne N, Nurmatov U, Trivella M, Leonardi-Bee J, Boyle RJ (2016). "Timing of Allergenic Food Introduction to the Infant Diet and Risk of Allergic or Autoimmune Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis". JAMA. 316 (11): 1181–1192. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.12623. hdl:10044/1/40479. PMID 27654604.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fiocchi2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Anderson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fiocchi2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Urisu A, Ebisawa M, Ito K, Aihara Y, Ito S, Mayumi M, Kohno Y, Kondo N (2014). "Japanese Guideline for Food Allergy 2014". Allergol Int. 63 (3): 399–419. doi:10.2332/allergolint.14-RAI-0770. PMID 25178179.
  20. ^ "Egg Allergy Facts" Archived 2013-01-12 at the Wayback Machine Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America