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Allergy To Eggs

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3
(@bradmanda)

Posted : 07/22/2014 6:08 pm

I am 99% certain that I am allergic to eggs, and that eggs have been one of the main contributors to my adult acne (I'm 26).

I recently wrote a post about becoming clear while on spironolactone (the popular anti-androgen that has been featured on acne.org and elsewhere). In that post, I mentioned that since February I had reduced my dose of spiro from 100 mg to 50 mg (still too afraid to wean myself off that final dose!), and had been pretty clear until June.

HOWEVER

I'm a researcher, and right before I was about to take a research trip to Brazil my face began to break out (jawline, strangely the areas of skin between the corner of my eyes and forehead). While in Brazil the breakouts only increased, my face also looking more tired and inflamed, and the zits even migrated to the center of my forehead, a place where I never break out.

I have been systematically trying to find what variables in my diet cause my acne, and I really thought I had it nailed down: I reduced my intake of sugars and carbs (which did help dramatically! especially with general oiliness), and eliminated dairy products made from cow's milk. Given, these changes were all done while I was on different medications (birth control, spironolactone, supplements). Despite being common allergens, I never thought eggs would be the culprit - I always thought eggs would help me stick to my low-carb, quasi-paleo diet. My family has also kept a flock of backyard hens since I was in elementary school, and eggs had been a staple of our household diet.

WHY DO I THINK IT'S EGGS?

Before said research trip, I was a eating A TON of eggs. My roommate had also left on a trip, leaving me with her carton of eggs to finish (I can't handle seeing good food expire). I was eating, like, 4 eggs a day, without other changes in routine or diet. This was following a period when I wasn't buying eggs regularly, for some reason. So, pre-flight, my face was a mess, probably the worst that it has been since 2012.

At the moment, I attributed the breakouts to stress, "random" "hormonal changes", and considered that my use of coconut oil to cleanse my face might be causing the breakouts. I was particularly saddened that I might have to stop using coconut oil, because it had helped so much with clearing my face of blackheads and pulling out dirt/dried sebum that was really stuck in there.

Well, to speed up my eggs and acne story, in Brazil I continued to break out. Did coconut oil finally turn on me? Was I experiencing an infamous "purge"? No. I was still consuming eggs like a madwoman in the mornings. One week when I had stopped buying eggs (again, for whatever reason), my face started to calm down, the patch of inflamed skin next to my left eye was looking less pissed off. Eggs? Could it be? Yes.

Furthermore, I eliminated eggs while increasing my consumption of common allergens, such as wheat/gluten, cheeses, and I definitely ate more sugar and carbs. (In Brazil there are less options than in the US, and Brazilians love their sweets and rich foods). Yet the breakouts began to disappear.

It has been 1.5 weeks since I have consumed eggs or something made with eggs, and my skin is calming down quickly, it's amazing. My skin is also much less oily, and only oils up a wee bit when I wear heavy foundation.

Scientifically, I still cannot prove that eggs are the cause of my acne given the other environmental and dietary factors at play, but I'm pretty sure of it. I'd bet my spironolactone prescription on it. I'm also wondering if I'm really allergic to milk/cheeses as I had thought, since I've been consuming more cheeses these days without any ill effect to report. Maybe I should have looked into eggs since the beginning, and saved myself the agony?

Last comment: Regarding the spiro, I think it might have been masking the allergic reactions that my body was having. My skin wasn't producing any oil on 100 mg of spiro, and from my understanding, as an anti-androgen spiro blocks androgens at the site of the pore. In sum, spiro might have resolved my acne and maybe some of my hormonal issues, but it didn't resolve the underlying issues related to diet, nutrition, or allergies.

Anyways, I consider this a success story for myself. My face is transforming and drying up like when I took my first round of Accutane as a teenager. I'll continue to monitor my progress and other observable changes in environment and diet and report back here

In conclusion, eggs might not be causing your acne. But, a patient, systematic approach to finding what about your diet or environment is making you break out is my best advice as a veteran acne suffer of 14+ years.

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(@venus-in-virgo-gal)

Posted : 08/09/2014 3:54 pm

Egg was one of the 15 foods on my negative list after getting the IgG Elisa food sensitivity test. I stopped eating egg and anything with egg(like mayonnaise) along with the 14 other foods. I am completely clear from the face.

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3
(@bradmanda)

Posted : 09/27/2014 10:24 am

That's great! I was red around the eyes, raccoon-like, from eczema caused mostly by eggs. (Now I'm suspecting also caused by yeast.)

After eliminating eggs, the eczema went away! As did much of my acne.

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1
(@hopeforthebest)

Posted : 04/07/2015 9:08 am

hey can you give me an update on your acne now??

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0
(@cs99)

Posted : 04/08/2015 2:14 pm

I can relate to this! For the past few months I had been eating eggs every single morning, and my skin started to break out bad on my chin and my upper lip, so I think the hormones in the eggs really messed up my hormones.

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16
(@kay789)

Posted : 04/18/2015 7:47 pm

Similar experience - I also went quasi-Paleo for acne. Though some of my acne went away, I started getting lots of pimples on my chin and jawline, which I never had before. Turned out it was due to the significant increase in eggs I was eating.

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