Egg allergy: therapies can reduce sensitivity

The allergy to some foods such as egg, milk, soy, seafood and wheat, is common in children, adolescents and even adults.

This condition limits the intake of some types of food and can be quite uncomfortable when preparing meals.

All of this happens because the immune system overreacts to harmless substances and releases antibodies into the blood, causing allergic reactions.

In some cases, the patient must take the antiallergic medicine recommended by the doctor to contain the symptoms of the allergy.

Immunotherapy

Some food allergies have another option to decrease sensitivity: so-called immunotherapies.

Basically they are applications of the allergen, in extremely small amounts, on the patient, making the organism get used to it and stop reacting to the product.

Gradually, higher doses of the allergen are being arranged by the doctor, so that the body can support increasing amounts without reacting allergic.

So that’s where the result of a study on the effects of desensitization comes in, presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Francisco, USA.

The research assessed the effectiveness of desensitization therapy in patients with egg allergy. The results demonstrate that the procedure has good results and can significantly reduce sensitivity to the product.

Even in cases where the patient is not completely free of allergy, it is possible that he will be able to consume small doses without suffering any symptoms.

But some studies suggest that therapy needs to be continuous. That is, if the patient stops gradual exposure to the allergenic agent, it is likely that he will again show hyperreaction when he comes into contact.

Read more: How to make the egg diet

How was the study done?

The study brought together 55 patients, aged between 5 and 11 years, with egg allergy. They were divided into two groups to receive two types of substance: egg or placebo.

As a standard immunotherapy procedure, and as we have already mentioned above, as the patients lost their sensitivity, scientists increased the allergens in the dosage.

According to the research results, after 5 years of treatment, 50% of the patients had no more allergic reactions caused by the egg, including being able to ingest up to 10 grams (about 2 spoons) of boiled eggs without showing any symptoms .

About 28% were completely desensitized, but 22% of participants were not desensitized.

This means that the ILO has the potential to help mainly children and young people who suffer from food allergies in general.

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, therapy to relieve food allergies could be approved between 2019 and 2020.


Food allergies are more common in childhood and can reappear in adulthood, but the chances of being eliminated even as a child are greater.

Therefore, advances in this area are important to increase the quality of life of those who experience this problem.

Loading...