Why do eggs make me sick?

+47 votes
asked Jul 21, 2018 in Health & Wellness by MatthewEdmun (260 points)
edited Jun 7, 2019
I recently had diarrhea after eating eggs. Those eggs aren’t spoiled. I bought them just a day before. I now had an upset stomach. They taste alright, nothing fishy about them. Why did I fell sick after eating them then? Even if it is spoiled, I’m sure I had cooked them properly.

9 Answers

+21 votes
answered Jun 27, 2019 by JamaalSaul3 (360 points)
edited Jul 12, 2019
If eating fresh eggs make you sick, it is probably caused by egg white intolerance. It is not an allergy since an allergy response should happen immediately. Sickness occurs a few hours after consumption, sometimes even a day or more. Your body had an immune response or unable to digest the egg whites, some get it after consuming a small amount of egg whites while other could feel sick only after eating a lot of it, so I guess this is the reason why you asked “why do eggs make me sick”. It is not life-threatening per say, but rather will cause discomfort to your everyday life. Even though it is called egg white intolerance, eating the egg yolk itself might bring you an upset stomach. Interestingly, you can go your whole life not getting any reaction, until out a blue one day you just feel sick from eating the eggs. It is difficult to confirm it, however since the sickness is delayed.

The best way is just to avoid eating any food with eggs in them. Everything that could contain eggs, be it cakes, cookies, mayonnaise, just avoid them, until you can pinpoint if it is eggs that are causing the issue. Don’t be worried, however, you can go back to eating eggs after some time with no sickness whatsoever. It’s just that kind of health problem. If you are still worried or the sickness continues, do visit a doctor. I do not condone reading this answer and to take it as the final solution. Get well soon!
commented Sep 15, 2015 by corrine (660 points)
Your answer and solution solved my question why do eggs make me sick, thanks a lot!
+20 votes
answered Aug 25, 2018 by StaciBanvard (400 points)
edited Aug 5, 2019
People who have intestinal problems or other sensitive bowels that often cause diarrhea can be lacking fiber, which eggs have none of. Eating more fiber helps your bowel movements be a little more stiff and hard because they might not naturally be able to. So if you eat a lot of eggs, you’re cutting out fiber from your diet that you could be getting from other things. They will also run right through you because of this. When eggs make you sick and in particular have diarrhea then it’s probably a sign you need more fiber.
+6 votes
answered Jan 3, 2019 by Flora4490910 (280 points)
edited Feb 16, 2019
My aunt had this problem and initially she switched to duck eggs (which didn’t make her sick) but they were a pain to buy (had to drive miles out into the country to source them from a local farm) so she decided to try just eating egg whites…and then just eating egg yolks. In her case, she could stomach the egg whites, but not the yolks. After about a year, she started adding just a tiny bit of the yolks back in and slowly, slowly was able to work her way up to eating whole eggs again. So maybe try to figure out whether it’s the yolks or the whites first, eliminate whichever part is making you sick and then after a year or two you might find you can start adding them back into your diet without any issues.
+5 votes
answered May 31, 2019 by TandyFowlkes (300 points)
edited Jul 20, 2019
Seriously, ignore the answer above; you really think an extreme reaction like upset stomach and diarrhea was caused because the chickens weren’t allowed to frolic in the sunshine before they laid the eggs?! Whilst they head off to the organic health food shop to buy overpriced tofu, why don’t you go see your doctor and get some real medical advice.
+5 votes
answered Jun 9, 2019 by JolieBucking (250 points)
edited Aug 11, 2019
People develop new allergies all the time! So even if you didn’t have one before, eggs making you sick could be a sign that you’ve developed one. If you notice that eggs continue to make you sick and it’s not just what you ate that one particular time, you should probably see a doctor. Changes in your body could make your stomach more sensitive to certain foods.
+5 votes
answered Jul 1, 2019 by MaiStonham3 (390 points)
edited Jul 11, 2019
I know you said you bought fresh eggs, but were they fresh from the supermarket or fresh from the farm? And were they free-range or battery hen eggs? I believe this can make a HUGE difference, so try switching to organic free-range eggs, preferably purchased from a local farmer or market.
+2 votes
answered Aug 2, 2018 by EugeneBoatri (250 points)
edited Sep 3, 2018
So your question is why do eggs make me sick... The Mayo Clinic says that eggs are extremely common as an allergy-causing food and that usually an allergy to eggs will produce a reaction anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours later – how soon after eating the eggs did you get sick? If it is an egg allergy then probably you should see your doctor for advice on how to manage it.
+2 votes
answered Jun 27, 2019 by MohammedStei (200 points)
edited Aug 5, 2019
Why do eggs make me sick? Well, unfortunately as many of us have found out the hard way, buying something at the store doesn’t ensure that it’s fresh product and the expiration date can’t always be trusted to be completely accurate. In the case of eggs, there’s no specific regulation on how long the eggs can stay at the farm before being packaged and receiving a use by date. This use by date can only ever be an estimate anyway because depending on the specific egg or how it’s stored or transferred can make a big difference on when it spoils. So even if you just bought your eggs, getting sick after eating eggs could be an indication that they’ve gone bad.

One way that you can always test them is by dropping an egg in a glass of water. If it sinks then it’s still good, but if it floats then it’s spoiled. Try testing the rest of the eggs in the carton or just testing eggs before cooking them in the future to make sure they haven’t gone bad in case your stomach is sensitive to this.
0 votes
answered Dec 11, 2018 by FlorHain478 (170 points)
edited May 17, 2019
OMG! Why do eggs make me sick... I get this as well! I was totally freaked out so I went to my doctor and they said it was most likely a “non-allergic” reaction to egg whites (apparently you can get allergic reactions to food and then you can just get reactions which means you have an “intolerance”). The doctor said that something in the egg whites makes my body produce histamine and that in some people it can have a super strong anaphylaxis type reaction (like when people get stung by bees and their faces swell up). So, maybe try eating just egg yolks and see if this helps? Also, I can handle egg whites in small amounts if they’re cooked into other stuff (like in pasta or cake), so see if you react when you eat that sort of thing. Hope this helps!
commented Feb 22, 2016 by Eggplant (100 points)
I used to eat eggs all the time until I had my gall bladder removed. Once I started eating eggs again,  I would get a really sick stomach, that lasted the entire day, as well as awful diarrhea.  I've spoken with a couple other women who also couldn't eat eggs for the same reasons and also had their gall bladder removed.  I know the g.b. has to do with producing bile for the kidney to process the food, but that doesn't help with the cravings! There must be something specific in eggs because nothing else satisfies my craving.  Sometimes I break down, grab a glass (or the entire bottle) of soda/ginger ale and have a couple scrambled eggs.  I can't go anywhere after though, if only because of how badly my stomach hurts.

However, the artificial eggs that come in the little cartons like milk don't bother me.

Not sure if the gall bladder theory applies to anyone else, but I thought it was an interesting coincidence which isn't tied to anything medical - and I've been to the doc a dozen times.  BUT that's me and my egg aversion - just wanted to pass along what I, and a few others, found to be curious.
commented Apr 9, 2016 by lydiaanne (100 points)
I have eaten eggs all my life and have never had any reaction to them.  The last 2 years when I try eating eggs I get nauseas.  I can eat anything with egg in it but I can't eat fried  or scrambled eggs. I never get a stomach ache I just need to throw up right after or while I am eating the eggs.  That is why I stopped eating them.  But I wonder why I get sick.  That is weird.
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