Heads up. This article is truly only intended for a very, very select group of individuals with severe food allergy. It addresses a very special situation when foods are found as an excipient (non-active ingredient) in a medication.

Excipients are added in manufacturing to protect, support or enhance stability or bioavailabilty of an active ingredient.

The amount of food found as an excipient is truly miniscule, and therefore, 99.99-plus percent of people actually allergic to that given food would not – repeat NOT – be affected by the tiny amount found in the medicine.

Some medicines that contain trace amounts of egg include: Interferon, some probiotics, vaccines against flu, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), rabies and yellow fever; Propofol, Ibuprofen, some multi-vitamins, Rosiglitazone and diphenhydramine.

Tiny amounts of fish protamine are found in NHP insulin.

Gelatin is found in many capsules and tablets, and in some suppositories and nicotine chewing gum. Vaccines for flu, Japanese encephalitis, MMR, rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, typhoid, varicella, yellow fever and zoster also contain it.

Milk has four allergy-causing proteins: Casamino acids are found in vaccines (DTaP, meningococcal pneumococcal, Td). Casein is found in Cefditoren, Miconazole, some probiotics and vaccines (TDaP, typhoid). Lactalbumin is found in the oral polio vaccine. And lactose is found in many tablets, capsules and granules. It is also in some asthma inhalers: Foradil, Advair, Flovent, Ventolin, Pulmicort, Spiriva, Symbicort and Asmanex.

Peanut oil is found in dimercaprol injection, progesterone capsules and valproric acid capsules.

Pine nut resin is found in fluoride tooth varnish.