(CBS) Many families have to struggle with food allergies.

Now new research says many kids will outgrow their allergy to a common food –eggs.

14-year-old Ariana Cooper has food allergies and has to watch every bite she eats.

“You always have to be careful and aware of everything around you,” Ariana says.

Her mom knows the dangers well. Ariana had a bad reaction to eggs at 5.

“Ariana started to cough a lot , to wheeze and get some hives and she threw up,” Shari Cooper, Ariana’s mother, remembers.

But Ariana eventually outgrew her allergy, which is not uncommon.

New research being presented at an American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology meeting shows 55% of children will outgrow egg allergies by age 7.

“Allergies seem to be on the rise, and children aren't outgrowing them as quickly as they used to. We used to say that 80 or 90 percent of kids would outgrow their egg allergy by the time they were 3,” Dr. Scoot Sichere with the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

About 8% of children in the U.S. have food allergies. Eggs are one of the most common causes.

And a second study is good news for those who don't outgrow them. 56% of allergic kids are able to eat eggs in baked products like cakes and breads.

“It's heated in an airy environment, high temperature. It changes the proteins in a way that for some people with egg allergy they are able to have it,” Dr. Sicherer says.

Doctors warn parents not to experiment at home. Instead, they should speak to an allergist about which foods are safe for their child.

Ariana still copes with allergies to peanuts and treenuts, but is relieved she can finally eat eggs.

“I just felt a little more free because I wouldn’t have to worry as much about having an egg allergy because eggs are in so many things,” Ariana says.

She's able to eat many things that she couldn't enjoy before.

Even if your child does not outgrow an egg allergy in childhood, doctors say a majority of kids will no longer be allergic by adolescence.
Many Children Outgrow Egg Allergies