has anyones little one had to have allergy testing???

snowleopard61

I've had skinprick testing (for airborne allergens) and also dermatological patch testing (in my case to establish what caused my contact dermatitis/hand eczema) as an adult, and both were quite painless. The implement used for the skinprick testing is not actually a needle but a small triangular piece of metal which makes a series of very superficial scratches. Although the allergic reactions can be uncomfortable, the process itself doesn't hurt. The patch testing is just a series (dozens) of substances applied to your back and kept in place with sticking plaster. The worst thing is that you can't bath or shower for 48 hours. In both cases there was a very clearly defined positive result, so it was really worth doing.

Hope they manage to work out what's causing your son's problem and that he won't have any more bad reactions.

fluffnutter

Allergies aren't just horrible, they're potentially life-threatening and need proper investigation. We're not talking about some over-indulged celebrity banging on about their 'food intolerances', i.e. nutty diet to make sure their weight doesn't rise above 8 stone. We're talking about a small child who's had quite severe reactions to unknown substances. Hives are unpleasant, a swollen airway catastrophic.

Allergy testing is pretty non-invasive. It will involve a series of tiny pinpricks (little scratches really) in the (normally) inside of the arm onto which are dropped tiny amounts of common allergens. It won't hurt him.

I urge you to get this sorted. Good luck.

gsymoo

My daughter needed allergy testing when she was 3. Its a simple scratch test and didn't hurt her at all. In fact she was more worried as the nurse wrote on her arm (so they know what they tested where) and she thought I'd tell the nurse off as my daughter knew you only write on paper, not walls or scribble on yourself! (Doesn't the nurse know that mummy!)

The reason she was tested was I have a serious food allergy that I have to carry an epi-pen for, at all times. I have gone into anaphylaxis in the past which is nasty. Luckily my daughter is fine, but I'd really push for the allergy testing and its a great idea keeping notes of when it happened. Hope all goes well.

gunsandbanjos

My daughter had loads of tests to try and discover what if anything was causing her repeated bouts of pneumonia. They took swabs and blood and even did a cystic fibrosis test (thats weird! They collect sweat under a little wrist band thing).

Turned out pesky little dust mites are the problem - her immune response is about 20 times the normal reaction.

With the anti histamines you have been given they might make your son drowsy just in case you didnt know, they knocked my daughter for six.

marisco_2

I looked into alternative medicine for my sons allergies. For 18 months he had accupuncture sessions to help release build up of heat in his system and we used chinese herbal medicine also.

What I did learn from the practitioner is it isn't just the foods a child eats that can cause an allergic reaction. It is also the way the food is cooked as this can have different effects when travelling through a persons digestive system. For instance meat that is casserolled is cooler travelling through the digestive system than meat that is roasted or fried. Red coloured foods such as tomatoes and peppers carry heat when they travel through a persons system.

I was very sceptical when first told this but it did make a difference. The other thing that caused my sons skin to be more susceptible to allergies was that we had a cat. He was allergic to the fur and this increased the sensitivity of his skin. Once the cat was sadly rehoned things really settled down.

Dressing him in 100% cotton made a huge difference. Using washing powder that is recommended for sensitive skins such as Surcare or Ecover also helped. Not using any fragranced bath lotions etc. I also hoovered regularly to keep things like dust mites at bay and had mattress and pillow case covers that could be washed.

jackomdj

Both my sisters children have epi pens. One of the things she was told was they have to have come into contact with something previously for the pri ck test to show as alergic so this may be what your doc was referring to.

I was tested when younger as I would come out in random welts and it turned out I was allergic to grass! Luckily i grew out of it but I do sometimes rash up for no obvious reason

Air_Cooled_75

I was also tested as a nipper, got the day off school and had writing all over my arm so thought it was great I too was prescribed Piriton, I had a tablet at 6 and would be asleep by 8! However, I took it for a good while and wasn't 'weaned' off it, I had terrible sleep problems for a fair time after stopping taking it.

Marisco, I thought (maybe because it's the case with me) that it's the dander, not the fur that causes problems? Dust mites still cause me a lot of problems, I haven't really grown out of my allergies as predicted (I'm 40 this year) but I have become a bit desensitised to cats having owned them for the last 16 years. Hay fever is still a big problem

It's deffo worth having the tests done and as people have said they are only scratches really. It will give you some piece of mind.

meritaten

hun - it doesnt have to be something exotic (such as cuttlefish), it could be something as simple as an eraser.
My aunt went to the dentist for years then for some reason after going she got an allergic reaction in her mouth - her lips especially swelled up. turned out to be an allergic reaction to latex!
(being of a dirty mind I commented that it was a good job she had never married!).
my point being that almost ANYTHING can cause a reaction and the allergy tests can help point to the cause.

CRANKY40

My hands do the same as your sons if I touch a horse. My most startling allergy so far has been the reaction I had to my baby son when I was pregnant. Who ever knew you could be allergic to your baby?

I was tested when I was small too, and I'm allergic to horses, cats, dogs, dust mites and birds. Keep an eye on his breathing when he has one of his funny reactions. If he seems to be struggling at all take him straight to A&E.

mum2one

zoesmummy_2006 wrote: »

Its very possible that he touched something in the classroom at school as it was there that he told me his hands hurt, he hadt said anything about them hurting on the way to school. I have no idea what it could have been though, he generally goes off to a table where his 3 friends are (the younger brothers of my daughters friends) and they all play together with whatever toys they have while we do the morning book work.

The only thing I can think of is that one of the girls in class had just come back off holiday and bought cuttlefish bones back with her to show the class-maybe he'd found that on the teachers table and touched it. I guess like the doctor said, its something we'll probably not ever know.

Thanks again for all your replies, my minds a bit more at ease now I know a little more about the testing process, fingers crossed it doesnt happen again but if it does I shall definately be ensuring he gets the tests!!!

Sounds daft but vould be the cuttlefish, hopefully something he will grow out of, at least yoy have the allery tablets etc.

Glad we were all able to put your mind at rest, I know its worrying when it happens and your told very little. xx