Homesteader with an Egg Allergy

in #life7 years ago

Homesteader with an Egg Allergy

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A few months ago, I started getting occasional nausea. At the time I didn’t think much of it but then the nausea turned to occasional vomiting. I started to notice a correlation; Every time it happened was shortly after eating something with egg in it. At first, I only noticed it when eating whole eggs, like in a breakfast sandwich or scrambles, but it started to happen with food that contained eggs. Baked goods, sandwiches and many other foods started making me sick, so I decided to avoid any foods with eggs in them.

This was going well until a few weeks ago. At lunch, I ate some lasagna not thinking about that it contained eggs. About an hour later, my arms started to feel itchy and soon after my legs were itchy. Then, I noticed it was a rash covering most of my body. My reactions seemed to be getting more serious so I decided it was time to see a doctor.

Visiting an allergist

The day I had the rash, I called and made an appointment with an allergist. I went to the appointment and talked about all my symptoms with the doctor. She seemed a little sceptical. I’m sure they deal with a lot of people who think they have allergies but don’t have true allergies. After talking with her for a while, I went to a different room to get a skin prick test.

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During a skin prick test, the doctor puts liquid that contains an allergen on your skin and then pokes you with a small needle. This allows some of the liquid to get under the outer layer of your skin. Then, they wait 15 minutes to see if any reaction happens. They tested me for the 8 most common allergens (eggs, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, shellfish, fish) and the test also includes a positive and negative control. Very quickly, my arm started getting itchy and a bump formed in 2 spots. The doctor came back and measured the bumps. The positive control, which is histamine, was about a ¼ inch and the other bump was almost an inch across. Results were in and I am very allergic to eggs.

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It's a little hard to see but 3 was the egg. There is a white bump surrounded by red irritated skin.

The Allergy

Now I have to avoid eating any food that contains eggs. Almost all baked good are off limits. Cookies, cakes, and pastries all contain eggs and even baked goods that don’t have eggs are a risk due to cross-contamination. No more mayo or creamy salad dressing. So many foods that I love could now be life threatening and I have to carry an EpiPen in case I have an anaphylactic reaction.

This is going to be a drastic change in my life. I need to learn different ways of cooking. Some of my go to meals are foods I can’t have anymore. One of my favorite summer meals was a frittata with whatever vegetables were ready in the garden. It was a great way to use extra veggies and eggs. We will have to reconsider the role of our chickens going forward since we no longer need dozens of eggs per weeks. I am a homesteader, owner of laying hens, and lover of eggs who is now highly allergic and must avoid them.

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Dang! That’s rough! I wonder if they can test you for duck and quail eggs? A lot of people who are allerguc to chicken eggs, often aren’t allergic to duck eggs. :) good luck! Not sure what I’d do with my chickens, I guess just sell eggs? Haha

I've never tried quail eggs but we have ducks and their eggs were also making me feel nauseous. So I assume I need to avoid duck eggs as well. Duck and chicken eggs share some proteins, although duck eggs have a lot less of the most common allergen, so it probably depends on how severe the allergy is. I'll have to look in to quail. We might sell eggs or hatch them and sell chicks.

Thanks for the support.

Ah darn. That stinks! Interesting how it has developed overtime, for sure! I wonder why! Sometimes I get nauseated after eating chicken eggs, sometimes every time, and sometimes it will be ok. How long did it take to go from one symptom to the next, worse, symptom?

Allergies are weird. I've eaten eggs my whole life but suddenly I can't anymore. I started noticing it around the end of November. Then over the next few weeks I was getting more nauseous. It's hard to say how the symptoms progressed from there since I was avoiding eggs. But the worst reaction, with the full body rash, was around the beginning of February.

Ouch, that is a bad allergy. Make sure any time you are going to get an injection that you tell them about the allergy. Eggs are used in making some injectable medicines, especially vaccines. @farmstead had a good idea bout asking about other types of egg testing. It just could work.

opps, didn't see where the duck eggs are doing it too, sorry.

Yeah it's really unfortunate. I knew that some vaccines were made with eggs. I'm working on developing a habit of telling everyone, at restaurants, other people's houses and especially doctors. Thanks for the suggestion.

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All is not lost you can use ground flax seed in baked goods. Used it when I had no eggs for pumpkin pie
Oh and there is vegan mayo.
I wonder if it’s just chicken eggs, wonder if duck eggs would be a problem or any other poultry.
I am “allergic” to tree nuts, especially almonds, but I can drink almond milk and eat pasteurized almonds with no problem.
Husband is wondering if it’s something the chickens are eating, like soy. Look into soy and corn free fed for your chickens before getting rid of the chickens