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Jill

Jill had mild eczema as an infant, which seemed to get worse when her parents started feeding her scrambled eggs. Because of this, her parents stopped giving her scrambled eggs and removed all foods made with egg from Jill’s diet. For years her parents continued to limit Jill’s diet without any problems. But now Jill is 9 years old and has come home crying from her best friend’s birthday party. She was very upset that she couldn’t have any birthday cake. Since 70% of children with egg allergy can tolerate baked egg,1 Jill and her parents agree that it’s time to undergo testing and better understand Jill’s reaction to eggs.

Jill’s Results

The results of an ImmunoCAPTM Whole Allergen test indicate that Jill is allergic to egg. Deeper testing with an egg allergen component test showed that Jill will continue to have a risk of systemic reaction to raw egg, but foods made with baked eggs are likely to be tolerated.2,3 Her healthcare professional then recommended that Jill undergo an oral food challenge (OFC) for baked eggs to make sure that she can eat the food safely. Jill and her parents agreed and she passed the challenge with no symptoms. Her healthcare professional says that she can now eat foods prepared with baked egg, like birthday cake, which Jill was thrilled to hear. Her results also showed that Jill is likely to outgrow her egg allergy and periodic retesting will help confirm if she continues to be allergic.

Am I Allergic?

Why it’s important to know

Many people are so used to living with their allergies that they never think that they should have their healthcare professional reassess their initial diagnosis. Just because you know what you were allergic to a year ago doesn’t mean you know what you’re allergic to today. Since your reactions can change over time—particularly to foods like egg—retesting can play an important role in your quality of life or the life of someone you love, 4 by reducing unnecessary food avoidance and the fear of an adverse reaction. Be sure to consult with your healthcare professional.

Learn more about testing

The people, places and events depicted in these photographs do not represent actual patients, nor are they affiliated in any way with the attached case study or Thermo Fisher Scientific.

References
  1. Lemon-Mulé H, Sampson HA, Sicherer SH, et al. Immunologic changes in children with egg allergy ingesting extensively heated egg. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;122(5):977-983.
  2. Ando H, Movérare R, Kondo Y, et al. Utility of ovomucoid-specific IgE concentrations in predicting symptomatic egg allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;122(3):583-588.
  3. Shin M, Han Y, Ahn K. The influence of the time and temperature of heat treatment on the allergenicity of egg white proteins. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2013;5(2):96-101.
  4. American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. http://acaai.org/resources/connect/ask-allergist/Allergy-Testing. Accessed October 2017.