Currently, the only treatment for people with egg allergy is to avoid eggs. In this small study, egg-allergic children were given oral immunotherapy using egg white power, followed by food challenge test. After 10 months of therapy, 55% of children passed an oral food challenge, while none in the control group passed. After 22 months of therapy, 75% passed. At this point, therapy was stopped and children were tested again at 24 months. After therapy was stopped, 28% passed. A year later all of the children who passed the test at 24 months passed at 36 months.
Immunotherapy works by desensitizing the immune system to a particular allergen. Usually called allergy shots, gradually increasing doses of the allergen are injected and, if it works, the body gradually stops reacting to the allergen and therefore the allergy, along with all the symptoms, is cured. Treatment usually takes several years. Oral immunotherapy is safer than injections for food allergies, and is obviously easier, less painful, and more convenient.
Oral immunotherapy for egg allergy in children shows promise, but further research is needed.
Oral Immunotherapy for Treatment of Egg Allergy in Children. N Engl J Med 2012; 367:233-243
