Adult with longterm food allergies, have to feed baby allergens

[StressedWalrus]

I'm not sure if this or the Egg Allergy board is more appropriate, but it seems other people post brief, introductory questions here.  I have peanut, treenut, and egg allergies and have for as long as I can remember.  I don't really know how severe they are at this point because I was raised to be so cautious about avoidance, so I'm unsure if my nut allergies have lessened after adolescence.  I went through exposure therapy (? Not sure if that's the right term but I ate a lot of increasing amounts in stuff) for egg in my teens.  For a while I basically didn't have an egg allergy, baked goods with a lot of egg that weren't very well cooked gave me issues but I could even eat fried eggs if I cooked them well done. 

During and after pregnancy my egg allergy got MUCH worse again.  I can hardly stand to be in a room with egg cooking and struggle to eat things like a slice of a full cake with 1 egg and the other substituted.  This really wouldn't be a problem because I learned as a kid how to substitute egg, except that my son is 1 year old and WIC / his pediatrician are very adamant that he NEEDS eggs.  Omelettes, scrambled, whatever.  They're cheap and a good source of protein, but I tried cooking him scrambled eggs once and had asthma issues for a full two hours after.  The kid loves them and we're on a very tight budget so I'm hesitant to just write them off.  Does anyone have advice for reducing my reactions besides taking benadryl beforehand?  It might be a stupid question, I'm sorry.  I'm just not sure what to do here.  He can't drink milk forever and we don't have the funds to give him a lot of meat for protein instead, plus he just doesn't have the teeth for meat right now.

[hedgehog]

I'm sorry if this is too obvious, but is there another adult in the household that can cook/serve eggs to him? If not in the household, perhaps daycare, baby sitter, grandparent?

[rebekahc]

Hi Walrus and welcome!

You're in a tough position and I wish I could give you good advice.  I had the same problems when my kids were little, but my son had a ton of food allergies, too, so it was just a matter of trying to expose my daughter to allergens without risking myself.  Luckily, she didn't need the allergens as a main dietary component and was able to have them when visiting others.  One thing I always did worry about was if she threw up and I had to clean it or if, God-forbid, she needed CPR from me that I would have a reaction and then we would be in more trouble.

For me, getting raw egg on my skin and breathing the steam / the steam hitting me while scrambling eggs are the two ways I still react to eggs. You really shouldn't risk cooking eggs for your son and having a bad reaction, but I understand your circumstances might almost require it.  My suggestion would be to try and find a cooking method that doesn't bother you as much.  Maybe hard boiling them?  I've also seen omelet in a bag recipes where you boil the eggs and other ingredients in a ziploc bag.  That might work - even if you just put eggs and a crumbled up cheese slice in the bag for him.  Can you have a relative or family friend prepare those muffin tin eggy concoctions for you (with like egg/cheese/a little ham/potatoes) and then freeze them.  You could just heat one up in the microwave for your son and maybe the small amount of steam from already cooked eggs wouldn't trigger a reaction as much?

With WIC you should be able to get other sources of protein, too, and maybe they even have a way to get something instead of eggs for those with allergies.  I wonder if a different WIC office might be able to help you better than the one you're using?  I found this information, so it looks like they should be able to work with you as long as you can find someone willing.

How does the WIC food package serve participants who have food allergies/intolerances?
The WIC Program works hard to serve a large population that has various nutritional needs, including food allergies/intolerances.  However, the foods eligible for the WIC food packages must meet nutritional requirements set by Federal regulations.  If a participant has food allergies, WIC staff may tailor food packages to better meet the participant's individual needs.  Types and quantities of foods in the food package may be adjusted to meet individual dietary needs.  For example, if a child on WIC is allergic to peanut butter, dried beans/peas may be substituted for the peanut butter.  If a pregnant woman on WIC is lactose-intolerant, lactose-reduced milk or soy-based beverage may be substituted. If an infant on WIC has a medical condition requiring an exempt infant formula, the participant may receive such a formula with appropriate medical documentation.

https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/wic/QAs-FP-Webpages.pdf   

[StressedWalrus]

Thanks for the advice.  It is pretty obvious, but my husband works, and my mother in law is available but smokes to the point I absolutely do not want her even holding my son-- we have a family history of asthma on both sides, and she always smells so strongly of smoke I can smell it on my husband if he's been talking to her within the last hour of him coming inside our apartment.  I don't trust her clothes, hair, or house not to be giving him thirdhand smoke. 

Hard boiling would probably work.  My only real worry at this point is how few teeth my kiddo has.  He manages to choke on lunchmeat strips, pasta, everything... how soft is a hardboiled egg, could he gum it and quickly break it down?  His manual dexterity is excellent, so he can rip apart a lot of foods well, he just shoves way too much in his mouth at once. 

I've never heard of omelette in a bag or anything like that, haha!  Guess it shows that I've had an egg allergy a really long time.  I never got too into cooking with them even when I technically could.  I'll look into it. 

WIC has been sincerely unhelpful at appointments.  I didn't manage to breastfeed him very long, which they were pretty upset about, and now they're mad about the fact that he's been throwing up the formula they give him.  Apparently they absolutely cannot give us cow's milk until he is officially 1 year old, but it's the only nutritious liquid that isn't making him puke.  They also won't take off purees, something he hasn't tolerated since he discovered hands could be used to shove food in his OWN mouth, and give us more fruits and veg $... it's frustrating, but I guess I understand they have regulations and all that.  I've just been using purees in baked goods to fool him into eating green beans. 

What I've been told thus far is that we only have one WIC office we can go to (rural area), and that they won't tailor my son's WIC package to my dietary needs either way.  Unless he has an allergy, they won't change it.  I'm sure that when he's a little older they'll give us peanut butter we absolutely cannot keep in the house as a result unless I manage to convince them. 

[spacecanada]

Honestly, I would try to avoid eggs if you're the one who has to prepare them.  Putting yourself at risk is dangerous and I'm shocked they would recommend you handle and cook something you are so allergic to.  Babies don't need eggs to thrive. 

I hope you can convince someone there that you cannot have your allergens in the house, for the safety of you, but also for the infant.  If you take ill from allergies, you will be unable to care for your child.  I really wish allergies were better understood and you had more support from WIC.   

What about beans and lentils?  Dried beans and lentils are inexpensive, readily available, easy to prepare, and high in protein!  You can mash them or blend them to make something easy for your tot.  Half a cup of cooked beans or lentils has similar protein to one egg.  Tofu might be another option, and it comes in a variety of forms (silken, firm) and is a cheaper alternative to meat.

As for the too much food part, you may want to try giving him a bit on his plate and wait until he finishes that.  Reward him for finishing a small bite before giving more.  That may slow him down and regulate his speed. 

Otherwise, in case someone can cook it for you, we made eggiest in baggies at camp many, many times.  Basically, crack an egg or two into a zip top bag, add whatever mix-ins you like (finely chopped veggies, cheese), zip seal the bag top, and put it into a pot of boiling water.  Cook until firm.  That's it.  Easy.  But you'll still have a messy infant with egg all over their hands and face, if not the floor, their high chair, table, whatever... that you'll have to clean up.  Which is why I would recommend avoiding egg if you can when you're the only one available to feed him. 

[Alvin]

I am also replying to this old thread because I had a seriously bad abdominal pain, diarrhoea and subsequently watery stools. I thought I share it here in case someone's goes through the same "sh**" as me.
It was a long process with severe diarrhoea and abdominal pains recurring every 5-7  days. Did stool test but no parasites or the usual bacteria/virus suspects. Finally did a blood test and high eosinophils was detected. Retook it a week after but the results are still high but lower than the first. It was almost 1 month and the watery stools and pain subsided but got worse on some instances.
Did a blood test again 1 month and and found the high eosinophils again.
I did make a big discovery with some research, every time I had a big diarrhoea episode, I had eaten shiitake mushrooms. I stopped eating it but had an episode, I later found that the soup I drank had shiitake mushroom powder. Research has shown that shiitake mushrooms causes eosinophilia and abdominal pains and diarrhoea.
A lot of food has shiitake mushroom ingredients especially East Asia food. I realised that shiitake is cooked with other mushrooms or other food and used as an ingredient in soups. Please take note and it could be the cause of your allergy. Hope this helps someone out there. Happy to talk more about this whole incident.