The Egg Allergy
Apr 25th, 2008 by Q
This last Monday I took my son to the hospital to get the results from his latest allergy test. We had him tested for egg white, egg yolk, ovomucoid (egg white), and buckwheat. I was somewhat hopeful because his past allergies to soy, wheat, and dairy have all gone away. (Buckwheat may seem an obscure thing to test for, but buckwheat noodles (soba) are rather common in Japan.)
Buckwheat came out clear, but all of his egg-related allergies had significantly increased. His allergy to egg white in particular was off the charts. Once it goes over 100 they just stop measuring it, so we don’t even know exactly how high it is. The doctor told us he’d never encountered an egg allergy score this high before. Great.
We’ve been living egg-free for a couple of years now and it’s basically second nature to us at this point. We don’t eat out all that much, but many restaurants and cafes in Tokyo have allergen markers on menus and displays so you can generally see if there’s egg, dairy, wheat, or soy without even asking. Still, it’s a little unnerving to think about what might happen if he did somehow consume egg. The Boy is really cooperative about it, and whenever a friend offers him any kind of food he’ll bring it to us to ask if there’s egg in it before he tries to eat it.
There’s still a good chance that he’ll grow out of it by the time he enters elementary school. Only time will tell.