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Specific Food Allergies > Egg Allergy
Child with a LTFA to egg developing an allergy to chicken?
emcsmom:
That's an interesting point. I do see some value in limiting the difficulty that a food allergy creates for others, though I think that can be a slippery slope, of course, particularly with a tween who's very, very quiet and very much a people-pleaser, as my daughter is. Getting her to a place where she's comfortable advocating for herself and vocal enough to ask about labels and ingredients, etc., has taken years. She's a very bright, articulate kid, just fundamentally really reserved ("shy" is not my favorite word so we use "reserved") so drawing attention to her LTFA in any capacity is not a comfortable position for her. We've worked hard to normalize that experience for her, and she has a good group of friends who are as supportive as they can be (without actually living in that world themselves), but it's been a growth process. At any rate--I think what will be a more compelling argument for her right now, anyway, is that a chicken allergy will limit her choices to eat in restaurants or eat in friends' homes. It's already challenge enough to avoid eggy places, but a chicken allergy would eliminate two of our three safe options, likely (leaving just the vegan place she likes).
spacecanada:
I have been silently reading this thread as it unfolded. As a vegan with food allergies, I can see every one of the mentioned sides to this. I also see the side where people try to or unknowingly slip vegetarians some meaty items because it's easier or because they think it doesn't matter (because it's a choice) -- and chicken broth or items with chicken would be the most common items in my experience. So knowing whether or not there's an allergy would be very important.
From the vegetarian/vegan perspective though, it would be very difficult to convince myself to eat meat for any reason. Though, my reasoning would make me do it if I had to for life-critical health -- and that would probably be the only reason. Allergies trump lifestyle food choices in my opinion. (I will admit to eating things that aren't vegan because they were SAFE. For instance, we were on vacation and the noodles they made contained egg but safe for all of my allergies - I'm not actually allergic to egg. Or the safe bakery near my house uses lard, but they are SAFE, so when people buy their cookies for me in lieu of their non-safe goodies, I may eat them if I'm hungry enough.)
Another thing to consider: chicken isn't a priority allergen and doesn't have to be declared on the label, so buying food items, even seemingly vegetarian or vegan ones, could become extremely difficult. Many vegetarian items are made in shared facilities with meaty ones. 'Natural Flavour' could become your nemesis (as it is mine.) If you could prevent that, quality of life could be much higher for the long run. (I'm currently trying to prevent more food allergies for just that reason - one non-priority allergen is difficult enough.)
If the allergist thinks a food challenge is due, I would have an open discussion with your daughter to let her decide what to do. She seems old enough to make those decisions. I always like to quote the UN Rights of the Child that children have the right to be involved in decisions that affect them. Give her all the details, from all angles, and all consequences, and see what she thinks. It doesn't have to be all at once, and don't expect an immediate answer, just a discussion for now with follow-up later.
Just a few more things to consider. A tough one, for sure.
emcsmom:
That's a great point about chicken ingredients and labeling, spacecanada. That would make it a lot trickier.
I will talk to my daughter about all of this, and see if the allergist would be willing to do a chicken challenge, if I can get my daughter on board willingly. I do think it's important that it be her decision, but she's a bright kid and she may get there if she has all of the information in terms of the potential consequences of adding another serious allergy to the mix.
Thanks, everyone, for your great advice and perspectives!
Linden:
--- Quote from: spacecanada on January 10, 2016, 09:05:20 PM ---I also see the side where people try to or unknowingly slip vegetarians some meaty items because it's easier or because they think it doesn't matter (because it's a choice) -- and chicken broth or items with chicken would be the most common items in my experience. So knowing whether or not there's an allergy would be very important.
--- End quote ---
Yes, Yes, 100X yes. I've had people slip me chicken on many occasions and some of them were aggressive and insistent that something had "no meat" in it or was "vegetarian". And these weren't even items I was asking about; folks were actually going out of their way to make sure I ate a particular item.
One more point, if I may, and this is not to sway your daughter one way or another. After being vegetarian for some time, I found chicken (and meat and fish) gave me quite the stomach ache. Just thinking this might be a confounding factor if your daughter ever does decide to go the chicken route.
Macabre:
Oh good point. Yeah, I told DS that if he ever decides to eat meat to take it slowly. After a period in college when I didn't eat meat, when I did (because I don't hurt to hurt my dad's feelings), I got sick.
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