does anyone know how to account for the following? we had my daughter allergy tested and they said that she was a 4+ on eggs, and pretty much nothing on all other foods. so, we have been slowly adding things (like soy/dairy) back into her diet since those were what were causing her issues. well, I've made her pudding before with rice milk and we have had no problems. today, my hubby said, make it with real milk, just so we know 100% for sure that her body can handle it. that was fine with me, so that it would be one less thing for me to worry about when we are out or at other people's houses and such. well, I fed it to her (she breaks out from just touching eggs, so each new thing I feed to her first) and her entire mouth, cheeks, and chin are now covered in welts/hives/rash. gave her benadryl and it's going away. but, how likely is it that the allergist was wrong? he did the skin test and the blood test and all came back neg. I will not be doing (dairy) again..the only thing left to try is straight soy...and i'm not even sure how to do that now (or even if I want to) I seem to ramble a lot here..thanks for letting me!
allergy testing wrong?
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thanks! i love her to death, but she is a handful. been walking since ten mths. she's 13mths now...I should update the pic. the doc just wanted us to "try" the foods that she had issues with before but came up neg in the testing. he said she should have no probs. *sigh* makes me glad I fought to keep her on the hypo allergenic formula until she's two yrs. still crossing my fingers that I can pump enough for both when #2 gets here.
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for a start, there are different types of allergic responses, and different tests work in different ways and pick up different body chemical signals and reaction types- so its quite possible that the tests used with her aren't covering everything that her body is doing/reacting to, or picking it up in the ways that it does react- different body chemicals do different things- and most tests don't cover all the responses and chemical markers.
secondly, i'm pretty sure that if your daughters body hasnt come across an allergen- like dairy, for example- for a while, the levels of defense against it in her body, may have dropped, which might account for why it didn't show positive on the test. i don't show up as allergic to some stuff nowadays, because my body hasn't encountered it for a while, so its not making as many antibodies against it generally. i know though, that when it i eat it, (in a double blind test when i don't know its there) it still causes my body to panic- and i'll react.
i can't explain it properly, cos i'm not an allergy doctor, but i know from experience that the tests used aren't near to 100% accurate for near to 100% of allergies in near to 100% of cases. i don't show a response on the scratch test which looks for an igE response, to some things that by body clearly freaks out over (and was told i'm not allergic to it- try telling my hives that, lol) -this was perhaps 'cos my body's response was due to an IgG or IgA type response- (its confusing to me too) which the test doesn't cover and the doctor didn't recognise.
i think you might benefit from joining a free yahoo online group for parents of kids with allergies- i joined one a few years ago, just to look around, and they are a wealth of knowledge and support (and info on things like recipes and rotation diets). Additionally, i'd suggest borrowing a book or 4 which explains food allergies, from your library. There are some really good easy to understand ones about- have a look on amazon, and for some reveiws, then get your library to order you a few, and read read read.
for introducing stuff back into her diet- i wouldn't give her a big amount at a time. i'd be more inclined to give her a few drops, then wait and see for a few hours, then if nothing happened, give her a spoonful, then again, wait, and maybe try a 1/4 cup after a day or two. by ramping up like this, you have more of an opportunity to check for reactions without causing a big scary and uncomfortable one, and it makes it easier to see if she can tollerate something up to a set dose. she might be ok with as much dairy as there is ain a quarter bar of chocolate, once or twice a week, but not with a cupful every day, you know? depends on her body and her allergy type/sensitivity. the allergy books will explain how to do this too though.
good luck!
ETA: Learn as much as you can about this- allergies are crazy things- i'm allergic to grass pollen, and when my hayfever is really bad, tomatoes will make my lips burn- because tomatoes have got similar chemical properties to grass pollen. i'm not allergic to tomatoes though- i can eat them fine, as long as there is no grass pollen about for my body to panic over! its weird- but important to know how they work- saves worry and stress in the long run.
secondly, i'm pretty sure that if your daughters body hasnt come across an allergen- like dairy, for example- for a while, the levels of defense against it in her body, may have dropped, which might account for why it didn't show positive on the test. i don't show up as allergic to some stuff nowadays, because my body hasn't encountered it for a while, so its not making as many antibodies against it generally. i know though, that when it i eat it, (in a double blind test when i don't know its there) it still causes my body to panic- and i'll react.
i can't explain it properly, cos i'm not an allergy doctor, but i know from experience that the tests used aren't near to 100% accurate for near to 100% of allergies in near to 100% of cases. i don't show a response on the scratch test which looks for an igE response, to some things that by body clearly freaks out over (and was told i'm not allergic to it- try telling my hives that, lol) -this was perhaps 'cos my body's response was due to an IgG or IgA type response- (its confusing to me too) which the test doesn't cover and the doctor didn't recognise.
i think you might benefit from joining a free yahoo online group for parents of kids with allergies- i joined one a few years ago, just to look around, and they are a wealth of knowledge and support (and info on things like recipes and rotation diets). Additionally, i'd suggest borrowing a book or 4 which explains food allergies, from your library. There are some really good easy to understand ones about- have a look on amazon, and for some reveiws, then get your library to order you a few, and read read read.
for introducing stuff back into her diet- i wouldn't give her a big amount at a time. i'd be more inclined to give her a few drops, then wait and see for a few hours, then if nothing happened, give her a spoonful, then again, wait, and maybe try a 1/4 cup after a day or two. by ramping up like this, you have more of an opportunity to check for reactions without causing a big scary and uncomfortable one, and it makes it easier to see if she can tollerate something up to a set dose. she might be ok with as much dairy as there is ain a quarter bar of chocolate, once or twice a week, but not with a cupful every day, you know? depends on her body and her allergy type/sensitivity. the allergy books will explain how to do this too though.
good luck!
ETA: Learn as much as you can about this- allergies are crazy things- i'm allergic to grass pollen, and when my hayfever is really bad, tomatoes will make my lips burn- because tomatoes have got similar chemical properties to grass pollen. i'm not allergic to tomatoes though- i can eat them fine, as long as there is no grass pollen about for my body to panic over! its weird- but important to know how they work- saves worry and stress in the long run.
it was the exact same pudding.
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do you have any books you recommend? our town is little and our library only has so much, and the things I have read only seem to repeat the parts that are confusing. I am hoping it will be easier when she is older so she can tell us more about how her body feels in response to foods. I guess I will just leave new foods alone for awhile. she has a pretty wide range of stuff she does eat (esp for her age) and until I can get a grip on how all this is, it will prob be best for all of us (and you all won't have me griping here either) I just never had any interest in medicine or doctor type stuff and I feel like I almost have to be one to understand what is going on with her. thanks for all the info!
do you have any books you recommend? our town is little and our library only has so much, and the things I have read only seem to repeat the parts that are confusing. I am hoping it will be easier when she is older so she can tell us more about how her body feels in response to foods. I guess I will just leave new foods alone for awhile. she has a pretty wide range of stuff she does eat (esp for her age) and until I can get a grip on how all this is, it will prob be best for all of us (and you all won't have me griping here either) I just never had any interest in medicine or doctor type stuff and I feel like I almost have to be one to understand what is going on with her. thanks for all the info!
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I have heard that allergies can fluctuate and evolve in both directions. On a positive note though, I also hear that many children grow out of their allergies as they get older.
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