Child with a LTFA to egg developing an allergy to chicken?

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maeve:
Is egg your child's only allergy? I ask because with broth I would suspect nuts as cross contamination with my daughter or egg (though since her baked egg challenge we don't have to worry about cross contamination as much).

McC, was your DS challenged to see if it was an allergy or something just showing up on tests? I say that because DD tested positive for dairy on a SPT as part of the screening for a clinical trial. She eats dairy daily without issue (not even flare in eczema). Also, she's tested positive for soy on RAST testing but is not allergic to it (it's a cross reactivity in the testing because of her peanut allergy).

I guess what I'm getting at is that a challenge is the only definitive way to determine if she's truly allergic. She's young enough that you can put your foot down as a parent and have her do the challenge (if the doctor will do so) because it's a safety issue as you pointed out even if she eats vegetarian.

Macabre:
Oh of course not. He would not have challenged it. He would never knowingly consume animal protein---until he decided a year ago to add the shrimp SLIT, knowing if was allergic it would be better to lose it. He's seen what a pain of a time I've had with a shellfish allergy--no reason to have to deal with that once peanut is "gone," yk?

Macabre:
Also Maeve, our allergist doesn't do SPT for food. This was several ImmunoCAP tests running--every six months for a couple of years. Though there can be false positives, it's not nearly like the rate with SPTs. I tend to out quite a bit more stock in ImmunoCAP results--but especially if I see a trend. There was also no reaction history, because he had not blatantly consumed shellfish in years.

emcsmom:
Hi Maeve--the broth was homemade and we have an egg-free house, so there wasn't any egg in it. I am reluctant to force my nearly-12 year old to do a food challenge, particularly one that involves meat when she's a vegetarian. As a practical matter, I'm not even sure how I'd do that. It wasn't a cavalier decision for her to give up meat several years ago, and attempting to "force" an older child into a food challenge seems like a bad idea on a lot of levels to me.

So ultimately--I guess that's my own answer. We stay where we are, and keep re-evaluating as she gets older.

CMdeux:
I agree-- never that great an idea to force a child-- must less trick one-- into a food challenge against their will.

What I wonder is if you've approached the conversation as one of being lower-impact on those around her. This is something that factors heavily into my DD16's approach to life with food allergies. For example, she would probably never have done an open egg challenge without that facet of things. It was a matter of being old enough to want to give dating partners more freedom in their own diets, to give friends/family more freedom in their own kitchens, etc.

She could care less about eating eggs-- EVER. But her poor fellow college students certainly do care, and it makes life far easier in other ways if she knows that she simply doesn't need to worry about X at all, ever.

Does that make sense? Because at it's root, the reluctance to evaluate the severity of the allergy is a food preference (albeit a serious one, which I understand is NOT the same thing as "I'm picky/I don't like that") and not a matter of safety.

For my own family (and I am not for one instant judging what others do or do not here) we evaluate our "footprint" with others and our justifications for making such requests of them on the basis of what is NECESSARY, not what is convenient, philosophically consistent, etc. for ourselves. If I have to ask for no shellfish at the local potluck in order to be able to eat anything (or just to attend) then I'm only going to be comfortable doing that if I know that my safety is on the line.

I'm not sure if this makes complete sense or not. I just don't ask OTHERS for accommodations that I don't know that I need. That is, I do every thing in my own power first, and only then ask others. It's a philosophical position on allergy management, I suppose. Which is why I-- truly-- don't judge others for doing things differently-- I just offer that as another facet to the multiple things under consideration.

Not all 12yo may be ready to see things through that lens, either. Mine was, and Mac's DS as well, but neither of them are typical teens, nor were they typical as tweens.

Good luck, and I'm :crossed: that you won't ever have to deal with it as an allergen, either way.

Tissue culture derived vaccinations and drugs might be a concern to someone with a chicken allergy, by the way. Not a big one, and probably most people wouldn't need to worry about the ultra-trace amounts in question even with an allergy in play-- but it's worth investigating if you happen to be someone highly sensitive to an avian allergen.