Homesteader with an Egg Allergy

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.

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.

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.