4Real Forums: blood tests for allergies?

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Topic: blood tests for allergies?

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Anneof 5
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Posted: April 11 2007 at 11:44am \| IP Logged

I have a question about blood test results for allergies. My dd,5yo, had this test done recently and she scored high for allergies to cats and dogs (we have both and she loves them), somewhat high for dust and mold and also for milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts and soy. Gosh, could there be more? I am a little more than overwhelmed thinking of what she is going to be able to eat if all of these are serious. Anyhow, we have an appointment with an allergist next week because her pediatrician said that the peanut allergy finding needs to be tested further with a skin test as that one could be life threatening. By the way, she eats peanut butter all the time. Does anyone know how reliable these tests are? She also has a lot of behavioral type issues going on and I am wondering if this could be related to these allergy findings (anyone with any experience with this type of thing?) TIA !
Anne

JennGM
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Posted: April 11 2007 at 1:33pm \| IP Logged

Anne,

That's a lot of allergies. I have the opposite experience, where we did skin tests first and they showed multiple food allergies, but the blood tests helped eliminate some of the foods.

Not every peanut allergy is life threatening, but it can be very serious, so it's good the allergist wants to test again.

Allergies can manifest themselves in behaviour, so you're not being crazy. The Feingold diet points to foods as triggers to behavior problems.

Spend some time at Kids with Food Allergies and some of these links to educate yourself a bit more on allergies. So much rides on your knowledge...it's so easy for the doctor to say: "She's alergic, go therefore and avoid all these foods." He's not living the day-to-day, cooking, buying foods, and daily interaction with your child.

I would ask for a skin test of all the things she was allergic to in the blood test, so you can see more clearly the plan.

Also, another question, do you know what kind of blood test this was? There are a few different kinds (Stef and Amy?), some better than others.

Why did your child get tested in the first place? Eczema? Hives? Did you suspect some foods already? With my son the skin tests showed peanut and soy, but I knew soy wasn't a problem. If you question the results, talk to the allergist.

Shellfish and peanut allergies can crop up at any time and they are rarely outgrown. If your daughter has show any food allergies, allergists usually recommend avoiding all peanuts and shellfish due to the weakness in her immune system that she COULD develop these allergies.

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Jennifer G. Miller
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Anneof 5
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Posted: April 11 2007 at 3:17pm \| IP Logged

Thanks, Jenn. I had her tested due to the nasal congestion and runny nose, occasional "barky" cough she gets, ongoing eczema since she was a baby. We were thinking seasonal allergies as some of those symptoms improve with the first snowfall and come back in the spring. I had suspected milk, especially since we had such a hard time finding the right formula when she was a baby. She is adopted so we don't have much background info. It will all be tough for her as she loves our animals so much and has been begging for her own kitty (not at this age!!). Am I right in assuming I should not give her anymore peanut butter till she is tested? She was begging for a peanut butter sandwich last night but I distracted her with an apple instead.
I will check out the info you recommended. Thanks so much. I don't know about the specific blood test. The strange thing is that they had the results since Feb. and didn't bother calling me!!
Anne

JennGM
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Posted: April 11 2007 at 7:20pm \| IP Logged

Barky cough? Did they say she has asthma?

I have allergies to cats, but we always had cats in my family. They were all indoor/outdoor. If her allergies aren't too bad you might be able to compromise -- keep the cats out of the sleeping area, never put worn clothes from the day inside the rooms after taking them off. Don't let put her face into the cat's fur, or where the cat sleeps. I'd also not allow the cat on furniture...but those have been our work arounds.

If it were me, I'd start "weaning" her off peanut butter, maybe introduce some other nut butters.

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Jennifer G. Miller
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'03 & ds2

'07
Family in Feast and Feria

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