I have a 5 year old daughter that is allergic to peanut butter. In the testing to determine this, they told us that she had a lesser degree allergy to eggs and shellfish. She can have eggs in baked goods, etc, we simply avoid giving her scrambled eggs or egg salad, etc. We will discuss this with our pediatrician at he upcoming visit, but I am anxious to know now.... Is the egg allergy to the consumption of eggs or does she need to avoid them altogether?? Due to the fact that the peanut allergy is immediate, she has begun homeschooling and I was looking to add the educational aspect of backyard chickens and push forward a long desired hobby to the front of the line... Does this condition totally derail my efforts as I would want her to be able to help gather the eggs with me to participate with the "pets" since we do not currently have a dog or cat due to the younger brother and sister... I will stop rambling and start listening. I would appreciate any responses here and certainly appreciate the kindness that I have witnessed in other posts and look forward to reading your responses.... Ty
If she can still have them in baked goods and things such as that, I can't imagine that her allergy would be so bad that she can't even handle them. The allergic reaction is generally caused by exposure to proteins in the white or yolk (or both). ETA: My youngest son has allergies that caused many hospitalizations when he was younger. We went through the gamut of allergy testing and found that he showed an allergy to many things including milk, soy, eggs, and peanuts but he is able to eat all of those things without any trouble. His allergies to those things were slight. He has outgrown several of his allergies, hopefully your daughter will as well!
I would agree that handling the eggs would more than likely be just fine. My husband recently told me that studies are being done with peanut allergic people. They are feeding them very small amounts of peanuts in increments, like an allergy shot. Hopefully peanut allergies will soon be a thing of the past. They sure are scary.
I have seen the peanut testing going on for years. I am very thankful for those parents willing to risk their children for the sake of the condition and at the risk of their own health, but I am not quite ready to parent a guinea pig for peanut allergies. I will graciously step aside and let other children "test the waters" while we go out of our way to protect our daughter...
I have "heard/read" that sometimes an egg allergy is selective. As in someone allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs. I haven't verified it at all, but it might be worth checking into. Best of luck to you and the kids, allergies are no fun.
I have an intolerance to egg white (protein) that means I am susceptible to rashes. It was worse when I was a child, but that may partly be a body size thing - 1 egg:30kg body weight is a bit different to 1egg:70kg body weight. If you are really concerned about your child having contact with eggs (especially if carrying eggs against her skin causes welts or something) then you could get her some attractive "egg collecting" gloves (non-porous gardening gloves) and a basket. This would also mean she keeps her hands clean of poop I also have a similar intolerance to cow milk protein. I have a couple of great recipes for eggfree-dairyfree muffins if you are interested. Just let me know. Have a great time on your home education journey. That's where we are going with our boys.
Is she allergic to bird dander? My youngest was allergic to everything, including bird dander. If she is allergic to eggs, MAKE SURE THEY KNOW IT if it is time for her immunizations. They say if they are allergic to rabbits, eggs, and I don't remember what all else, not to take the vaccinations, as the contain this stuff. My son had to have a certificate of exemption, given by the Health Department. Be sure to talk to the Dr. about it.
