# Is it possible to be allergic to storebought eggs...



## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

...but not to homegrown eggs? 
Chicken eggs, that is. 
My daughter had a food allergy blood test done, and it showed that she is extremely allergic to egg whites AND egg yolks. 
However, I dont see ANY reaction in her when she eats them. Could that be because she only eats farm fresh eggs from free range all natural HEALTHY chickens?


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

I've had food allergy tests in the past. While I didn't come back as extremely allergic, I did come back as having an allergy to TWENTY SEVEN different foods...all of which I ate on a regular basis! I did the elimination diet and was completely miserable because of my limited choices. So I just eat all those foods still...turns out I had an infected gall bladder that was causing my digestive issues.

Sooo...some allergy tests I guess I just can't be sure of. But showing an extreme allergy and not having a reaction (even with the differences between store bought and home grown) seems odd. Why did she have the test? Does she appear to be having allergic reactions and you wanted to know what they might be? Sometimes it takes a long time for things to show up and maybe she is reacting, but the time frame is such that you aren't connecting the dots?


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Food allergies are nothing to play around with. Discuss this with your doctor and take his/her advice...not the anecdotes of people on a forum. 
My daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts and so far has not had a bad reaction. BUT the "big one" could happen at any time.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

Sometimes reactions can be very mild such as runny nose, feeling itchy, eyes watery, cough. I'm allergic to a lot of stuff, foods, dust, smoke, wool, scented products. I don't necessarily have a reaction every time that requires me to use an inhaler but I do get milder reactions that are easy to ignore such as the runny nose and itchy feeling or with scented products coughing.

I'd be watching dd very carefully whenever she has eggs and I'd be limiting them. Eggs are like milk and gluten in that they are in a lot of commercial products. You about have to read every label. 

What did her doctor recommend? I'm supposed to carry an epi-pen but don't anymore. They are expensive and outdate so I've stopped getting them. I do carry a rescue inhaler at all times. The problem with food allergies is that you can eat the food and have mild unnoticeable reactions for ages then suddenly a life threatening reaction.


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2010)

Ark said:


> ...but not to homegrown eggs?
> Chicken eggs, that is.
> My daughter had a food allergy blood test done, and it showed that she is extremely allergic to egg whites AND egg yolks.
> However, I dont see ANY reaction in her when she eats them. Could that be because she only eats farm fresh eggs from free range all natural HEALTHY chickens?


I can believe it. My mother has an allergy to peanuts. It took her a while to figure it out, but an allergy test proved it.

Peanuts cause the most horrible oozing rash on her stomach and hands that drives her mad with the pain and itching.

But guess what? ORGANIC peanuts and peanut butter don't cause any symptoms at all!!

We don't have a clue why that is. :shrug:


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## southrngardngal (Oct 18, 2005)

We have a friend that can't eat store bought eggs but can eat the eggs we have. He has a itchy feeling when eating store bought eggs but has no reaction to ours. 

He thinks it's the chemicals chickens are fed that causes his reaction. Since we don't feed ours chemicals/antibiotics he doesn't get the reaction when eating eggs from our hens.

But it's like Ann said...I ate pork for years and then one night had a serious reaction to it.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

They are testing certain components, not the whole egg. Because your homegrown eggs are better balanced than store bought, this could make a difference in her reacting or not reacting. Also, sometimes you will not react because there isn't enough there to create a noticable difference. If she is also allergic to milk and honey and you made eggnog with milk, eggs, and honey, she might react then because you are piling on the allergens. Ask the allergist.


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## Becka (Mar 15, 2008)

Ark said:


> ...but not to homegrown eggs?
> Chicken eggs, that is.
> My daughter had a food allergy blood test done, and it showed that she is extremely allergic to egg whites AND egg yolks.
> However, I dont see ANY reaction in her when she eats them. Could that be because she only eats farm fresh eggs from free range all natural HEALTHY chickens?


Yes, it is possible. My nephew is allergic to eggs and cannot eat store bought eggs without having a reaction. He can, however, eat eggs from my parents' organic, home-grown chickens with no problem AT ALL.

I do not trust the egg allergy testing, though. My youngest dd is highly allergic to eggs to the point she will stop breathing, but the allergy never showed up when they tested her. Go figure. The doctor told me the test was about 95% accurate for most people, but in my dd's case it was not, and told me my dd is clearly allergic to eggs whether or not the test says so.

My UNEDUCATED guess is that it's not really the eggs they are allergic to, it's something IN the eggs. Like another poster said, don't just take our word for it, clear it with your doctor first.


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## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

Store bought eggs are processed. The eggs are washed in disinfectant and then sprayed with oil so they last longer. Perhaps there is something in the disinfectant or the oil someone is allergic to. Maybe there is a feed additive that is the culprit.
Linda


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks everyone!

A little background:
DD13 has been sick and bedridden since March 09 with Lyme Disease. 
We did the food allergy test early on before we knew it was Lyme, to try to see if that would help us figure out what was wrong. 
We got some ducks and between their eggs Texas Artist's duck eggs that she donates to the cause, we have just enough duck eggs to keep us going!
DD doesnt like eggs, so she never eats them just plain, only in baking. 
We've already eliminated gluten from her diet, so as anyone who has done that knows, we're no longer eating anything from a box, can, or package. 
Reading labels is an art form around here!!


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Ark said:


> ...but not to homegrown eggs?
> Chicken eggs, that is.
> My daughter had a food allergy blood test done, and it showed that she is extremely allergic to egg whites AND egg yolks.
> However, I dont see ANY reaction in her when she eats them. Could that be because she only eats farm fresh eggs from free range all natural HEALTHY chickens?


You're playing with fire if you let her eat anything with eggs. No, not possible. My daughter tests highly positive to peanuts. They did RAST testing and they did skin testing. Both show a very high reaction. She's never had any reaction that we've seen. We do not let her have anything with peanuts. The thing with food allergies is that they can show up with symptoms that don't look like an allergic symptom: headache, stomach ache, food cravings. People allergic to eggs need to avoid certain vaccines like the flu shot. 

Please don't let her eat your eggs. She should have egg free noodles, egg free cake, cookies, etc. Food allergies can kill you. Does she carry an epi pen?

When they do testing for egg allergies (and other food allergies) they don't use an entire egg. They test for allergy to the most common causes of problems. They use the most commonly allergic parts, probably egg protein for eggs. In latex allergy testing, for example, they test only for the three proteins in latex that cause allergy. My daughter is highly allergic to latex.... gives her breathing problems... but tests negative to those three proteins that most commonly cause a problem.


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

Joshie said:


> Please don't let her eat your eggs. She should have egg free noodles, egg free cake, cookies, etc. Food allergies can kill you. Does she carry an epi pen?


Make that gluten free egg free noodles, gluten free egg free cake, cookies, etc. 
I asked the doc if we could do the duck eggs instead of chicken eggs and she said "Try it and see if she has any reactions." Well, I dont see any reaction when she eats duck eggs, but I never did when she ate chicken eggs either!!


No, the doctor didnt say anything about the possible need for an epi-pen...?


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Ark said:


> Thanks everyone!
> 
> A little background:
> DD13 has been sick and bedridden since March 09 with Lyme Disease.
> ...


While doing some research, I found information about how some people are allergic to chicken eggs and NOT allergic to duck eggs. I will look for a source in a little while. Company has just arrived at my house.

Here is the link that I think I saw when I was writing my business plan.

http://www.duckeggs.com/


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## ronbre (Apr 26, 2009)

i have a serious sensitivity to non fertilized ...storebought....eggs..i get terrible diah...don't get it wtih fertilized farm eggs


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## Kris in MI (May 30, 2002)

I think store eggs are different from farm (ie homestead) eggs. I had just about given up eating eggs because within an hour or so of eating them I would just feel queasy like I needed to throw up. But, I was also very far into researching the effects of processed foods (esp. colorings, preservatives, artificial sweeteners) and changing my family's eating habits that I wondered if farm fresh eggs might not give me that sickly feeling.

Nope, they didn't! Got me some laying hens and I haven't eaten store bought eggs in years. 

Also, one of my kids has always had chemical sensitivities--he was the reason I was researching preservatives, etc in the first place. He also had a mild egg allergy, which the allergist told me just not to feed him eggs by themselves. If they were 'diluted' by being in baked goods, it shouldn't bother him. Within a year of stopping with the store eggs and only using home-raised ones, the egg allergy did not show up on ds's allergy test AND ds discovered that he loved eggs (from the time he was an infant he'd hated eggs). His favorite way to eat eggs now are fried eggs or egg salad sandwiches.

So, personally, I believe there is a tangible difference between store eggs (ie factory eggs) and those laid by your own chickens.


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Jul 28, 2006)

I get diarreah with store bought eggs. My home grown eggs never do that to me.


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## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

THANKS for posting this, My sister has a daughter (with epi) that has egg allergins... Im going to mention HOME eggs and duck eggs!!! ITS worth a shot!! That girl is going nuts trying to find foods for a TODDLER (she is almost 3) that dont have eggs!!!


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Ark said:


> No, the doctor didnt say anything about the possible need for an epi-pen...?


If your daughter has these allergies I'd ask for an epi pen. If she's tested strongly for an allergy an epi pen can save her life. What happens if she comes in contact with eggs unknowingly? Not worth the risk in my book.


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## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

There are two ways one can react to allergens. There is the IgG, (delayed reactions) and the IgE (immediate reactions). It's the IgE reactions that include anaphylaxis. 

From what I understand, peanuts soak up a lot of toxins in the soil. Farmers use them to "clean up" their fields, and get to sell the peanuts to boot. Organic peanuts, being organic, won't be soaking up any artificial toxins. So I can see how one could react to regular peanuts, but not organic ones. 

Allergies, when ignored, can cause all sorts of stress on your body, even if they are the IgG type. I've been in very poor health for the last several years, and I had allergy tests done about a year ago, and found out I am allergic to chicken eggs, goat and cow milk (raw or not), gluten in wheat, rye, barley, etc., and ....... GARLIC!!! (ack!) I never had any specific symptoms, just felt rotten and exhausted. Typical IgG. When I got off all the allergens, I felt a lot better. Once I was off of them for a month or two, I could tell how they made me feel if I ate something with one of them in it.


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## KatSpradley (Nov 7, 2008)

wondering does insurance pay for IgE and IgN? I have BCBS of NC. I had allergy test a long time ago....I have since developed more it seems. Would love to figure out the true triggers...


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## RAHN (Mar 10, 2009)

There are food allergies and food intolerances. And each one has different levels of severity. An allergy will usually give you a reaction- usually a bad reaction. An intolerance still affects you, just usually not quite as noticeable- or something more benign like an IBS symptom, excess mucus, headache, etc.

Just because you are not getting a bad or overt reaction doesn't mean it isn't taking a toll on you. There is some interesting research on immune system-related diseases and long-term exposure to allergies/intolerances. So, if you are allergic to a food your best best is to avoid it. If you are intolerant to a food, it is still best to avoid- or at least limit your intake a great deal.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

What is an extreme reaction in your book?

I got a 2 on eggs, but I eat them all the time with no problems. I got a 4 on grass pollen and it makes me MISERABLE!


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## RAHN (Mar 10, 2009)

Extreme would be the typical allergic reactions- like hives, swelling, rashes, breathing problems.

People react differently to different allergies or intolerances. But just because you don't get as noticeable of a reaction doesn't mean that a substance isn't taking a toll on you.


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## Pink_Carnation (Apr 21, 2006)

Ark said:


> ...but not to homegrown eggs?
> Chicken eggs, that is.
> My daughter had a food allergy blood test done, and it showed that she is extremely allergic to egg whites AND egg yolks.
> However, I dont see ANY reaction in her when she eats them. Could that be because she only eats farm fresh eggs from free range all natural HEALTHY chickens?


I don't know about the difference but it is possible to have a false positive test on allergies.


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## RACHEL M (Jul 30, 2020)

Ark said:


> ...but not to homegrown eggs?
> Chicken eggs, that is.
> My daughter had a food allergy blood test done, and it showed that she is extremely allergic to egg whites AND egg yolks.
> However, I dont see ANY reaction in her when she eats them. Could that be because she only eats farm fresh eggs from free range all natural HEALTHY chickens?


So this is me. If I eat most store bought eggs I get tremendously sick to my stomach and am stuck in the bathroom. If I eat fresh eggs or even egglands best I don't get sick at all. I was looking for a reason when I came across your question so it may have merit.


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## Rural Kanuck (Apr 13, 2020)

As a life long vegetarian now in my 70s I would find it very difficult to manage without Eggs, Cheese and Nuts but understand the concerns of those who have a marked reaction to any particular food. On the other hand I have little time for changing ones diet based upon some 'test' which says you are allergenic to a food that does not bother you, I had a cousin who reduced her intake of almost all 'normal' foods due to the advice of such a 'specialist', such diet shortened her life IMHO. I would suggest that except for those folks who have a 'severe' reaction taking such foods in moderation regularly could reduce the body's reaction to it. Again I know a friend where this did in fact happen, being exposed to that which bothers us (in small quantities) may help to build a better tolerance to it. Totally avoiding it may do the opposite.


All that said I also suspect that farm fresh eggs generally contain less chemicals particularly where the chickens are not fed commercial chicken feed which undoubtedly contains all kinds of strange additives. Our store bought food is increasingly being, grown, brought in or processed, and 'preserved' with little thought to where it actually came from and what it contains!


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

We can't eat store bought eggs due to our corn allergy. What goes in must come out. On the other hand my father can not eat eggs where the chickens have been out on the grass but he can eat store bought eggs just fine.


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## Kstar (Jun 14, 2020)

I am a firm believer that this is possible! 

I started having issues with eggs when I ate at restaurants. I remember we were a little ways out of town and went to a Waffle House and I ordered an omelet. I almost didn't make it back into town, I had the worst diarrhea...I'm talking miserable, multiple trips in a row for a few hours. My mind would feel really foggy, too. I suspected I must be having an issue. After a time, come to find out that eggs were a problem. If I had a bite of them in a restaurant, my mind would feel foggy and within an hour I was rushing to the bathroom. I had this issue for years so I avoided eggs. Sometimes I could have baked goods with eggs and was fine, but I couldn't have straight up cooked eggs. 

I had this issue for years before we even got chickens. When we had chickens, I tried the eggs and I didn't feel foggy or anything. I wasn't rushing to the bathroom. I could eat our homegrown eggs, but not the storebought stuff. 

Of course there are huge differences between commercially raised chickens and homestead chickens. Commercially raised aren't treated right...many of them are given antibiotics to prevent and treat illnesses as a lot of them are put in a cage too small to move around for the entirety of their egg laying lives. Meanwhile, on the homestead, most chickens are allowed to free range or have plenty of room in a good sized run where they are given access to natural plants, a good feed, and they generally aren't overcrowded and monitored closely for illnesses. Not to mention many commercial eggs must be vigorously washed - this takes the natural bloom off of the egg, and sometimes they bleach the eggs. This stuff I would imagine gets into the egg, especially since the pores on a commercial egg are probably a lot bigger, thus letting more bacteria and junk inside. Sick chickens will lay sick eggs. By the time those eggs get from commercial plant to store, it could have been a few weeks already. 

I also would like to mention I was taking a medication at the time that I had taken many years. I never had problems with eggs until I had already taken it for 5 years, but it was well built up in my system by then so maybe it didn't react well to something in commercial eggs because when I was fully weaned off of that medication after taking it for 9 years, I haven't had an issue. It was a strange situation...

Sometimes I am thinking it is how the food is treated...is it the antibiotics the animals are given and other medications? Is it sometimes the pesticides or insecticides on our foods? Is it the soil that our food grows in? Is it how the animal product treated after it comes from the animal? Sprayed, chemical treated, etc.? I am not sure if we'll ever know.

Some reactions will generally be worse than others. My husband mentioned to me with his peanut allergy that when he was younger that he didn't realize it was peanuts. He wasn't sure why he would feel winded after a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He found out it was the peanuts and unfortunate for him, his abusive mother never believed it so she would still make stuff with peanuts and have him eat it. She never believed in "food allergies". When I met him, he could make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he just couldn't eat it. Touching it didn't bother him, only eating it. A couple years ago, someone brought peanuts onto the floor at work and just the dust made his eyes swell so bad he couldn't see. Someone had to drive him home and then to work the next day to get his car. People would bring peanuts just to spite him or rub their work station down with peanut contaminated hands. Some of them got written up, but that's just a slap on the wrist for attempting to harm or kill. He couldn't do the epi-pen as he was epinephrine resistant per his doctor and said an epi-pen alone wouldn't help. He's no longer allergic to peanuts, thankfully, but it didn't start out bad and then kept getting worse for a long time.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I think that a person can be allergic to almost anything. For instance, the sight of President Obama on the television makes me sick to my stomach.


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