Egg Allergies

EmmaG, RN · Oct 31, 2007

Has anyone actually witnessed an allergic reaction to eggs? I am asking this because of flu season...we are administering flu vaccines and we ask patients if they have allergies to eggs, of course. Has anyone ever experienced egg allergies or seen the results of one? Does anyone suffer from anaphylaxis?
When my mother was alive (and before I became an LPN), she would not receive flu vaccines because she would become very nauseous after eating eggs, and have stomach pains for at least three days. She would not eat potato salad or anything that has eggs as an ingredient (she was able to consume cakes, though). However, I am reading that nausea is not considered to be a symptom of allergy.
Just curious...thanks!

http://www.worldallergy.org/professional/allergic_diseases_center/foodallergy/

I know that egg proteins can cause anaphylaxis, but I've never seen that happen. Apparently, N&V can be a sign of food allergy.

Gastrointestinal Tract
Symptoms caused by immediate sensitivity in the gastrointestinal tract typically develop within minutes to 2 hours of ingesting the offending food. Symptoms can include lip, tongue and palatal pruritus and swelling, laryngeal oedema, nausea, abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrhoea. Severe reactions can result in most or all symptoms associated with angioedema.
Allergic eosinophilic oesophagitis, gastritis or gastroenteritis: The exact cause of these disorders remains unknown although both IgE-mediated and T-cell-mediated reactions have been implicated. These conditions are characterized by infiltration of eosinophils in the mucosal, muscular and/or serosal layers of the stomach or small intestines. Patients present with postprandial nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea (occasionally steatorrhoea) and weight loss in adults and failure to thrive in young infants. Eighty percent of patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis have symptoms similar to gastroesophageal reflux, which are refractory to anti-reflux therapy. In the case of infants, the vomitus often contains stringy mucus (similar to egg albumen). Patients may also present with food refusal, dysphagia, food impaction or abdominal pain. Food induced IgE-mediated allergy has been implicated in the pathogenesis in some patients.

Cool site :)

woody62, RN · Oct 31, 2007

Has anyone actually witnessed an allergic reaction to eggs? I am asking this because of flu season...we are administering flu vaccines and we ask patients if they have allergies to eggs, of course. Has anyone ever experienced egg allergies or seen the results of one? Does anyone suffer from anaphylaxis?
When my mother was alive (and before I became an LPN), she would not receive flu vaccines because she would become very nauseous after eating eggs, and have stomach pains for at least three days. She would not eat potato salad or anything that has eggs as an ingredient (she was able to consume cakes, though). However, I am reading that nausea is not considered to be a symptom of allergy.
Just curious...thanks!

I suffer from an allergy to penicillin. Get anywhere near it and I go into anaphylaxis. I suffered a rapid onset of anxiety, difficulty in breathing, a feeling that my throat was rapidly closing off, a flush and a drop in my blood pressure. It was a good thing I was all ready in the ER. Despite a code being called and responded to immediately, I suffered a respiratory and cardiac arrest. Your Mom may have a sensitivity to eggs but I doubt she is truly allergic to them. She can eat cake, which contains eggs.

Woody:balloons:

bigsyis · Oct 31, 2007

Also, be sure that you ask the folks you are giving the vaccine to if they have had allergic reactions to contact lens solution or Thimerosol. I had one drawn up to give the other day, and was about to stick the person. I had been asking all of the usual questions about allergies, and that was the last one I asked. The person said that she had experienced a severe ocular allergic reaction to Thimerosol in contact lens solution.

Thimerosol is a preservative component of the flu vaccine.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Oct 31, 2007

Also, be sure that you ask the folks you are giving the vaccine to if they have had allergic reactions to contact lens solution or Thimerosol. I had one drawn up to give the other day, and was about to stick the person. I had been asking all of the usual questions about allergies, and that was the last one I asked. The person said that she had experienced a severe ocular allergic reaction to Thimerosol in contact lens solution.
Thimerosol is a preservative component of the flu vaccine.

Funny that you bring this up. I had a Spanish speaking client whom I was asking if she had an allergy to thimerosol and the egg thingy. Had the interpeter on the speaker phone and each time I asked for clarification, the interpeter continued to say (quoting the client), "I do not like eggs, I have not eaten them in years because I do not like them". Basically, the interpeter did not speak the dialect of Spanish that this client did. I then took the client back to the provider (he speaks Spanish), explained to him that speaking to the interpeter did not help, and to please ask the patient the following questions (including Guillian Barre Syndrome and thimerosol). The provider tells me that asking about thimerosol makes no sense, and I can tell that he didn't bother to ask. I told him that if he doesn't ask EVERYTHING, then, I will NOT administer the vaccination. Your example was paramount to why we have to ask EVERYTHING.

ted53 · Oct 31, 2007

Hi new to this website, I joined because I am hoping to move to the states. To answer you question,my daughter has had an egg allergy since the age of 3 months she is now 19. Her first reaction was to vomit when someone placed one drop of raw egg on her tongue which she swallowed. She also developed a very red face. since then she has had several reactions usually when ingesting eggs by accident. the reactions range from urticarial rash to wheezing and numbness on her tongue and lips. She has been tested in hospital 3 times as a child and her reaction was severe.

There are varying degrees of sensitivity to all allergens but safety is the best option. As luck would have it my wife has developed a class one latex allergy. Last week she had a very severe reaction, including feeling her throat swell up. At the hospital her SPO2 was normal so she was given a dose of steroids and nil else. We tried to use the adrenalin pen but it failed, it was a cheap version.

Anaphylaxis is a rare event, the symptoms can be classified as Itchy(the urticarial rash); wheezy(breathing is affected); leaky(cardiovascular symptoms such as dilation of blood vessels and can lead to loss of consciousness. Hope this helps

Has anyone actually witnessed an allergic reaction to eggs? I am asking this because of flu season...we are administering flu vaccines and we ask patients if they have allergies to eggs, of course. Has anyone ever experienced egg allergies or seen the results of one? Does anyone suffer from anaphylaxis?
When my mother was alive (and before I became an LPN), she would not receive flu vaccines because she would become very nauseous after eating eggs, and have stomach pains for at least three days. She would not eat potato salad or anything that has eggs as an ingredient (she was able to consume cakes, though). However, I am reading that nausea is not considered to be a symptom of allergy.
Just curious...thanks!

StacieRN, RN · Oct 31, 2007

I am allergic to a protein in eggs. If the egg is cooked the protein is mostly denatured and my reaction is mild (usually nausea and headache if I've consumed a lot of egg product.

If uncooked (vaccines are cultured in raw egg), I have a hyperthermic response. As a nurse, many vears ago I felt the flu shot was worth the fever. However, The last time I took a gram of tylenol 1 hour prior to the shot and 600 mgs of ibuprofen when injected. An hour later my temp was 102.5. The fever persisted for 12 hours even with antipyretics.

Since then I have not taken the flu shots and avoid uncooked egg products.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Oct 31, 2007

Both of my nephews are allergic to the egg protein. For the little guy (3), he gets red face, swollen tongue, severe stomach cramps and vomiting and a visit to the ED.