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(Mis)Adventures in Food Allergies
Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, Nutrition: Health
I never had to deal with allergies of any type until a few years ago, when my daughter started having troubles with dairy. While she eventually outgrew her allergy, my son is still going strong with his.
Just the other day, we had the official blood test for allergies done. I was shocked to see that it came back for dairy (expected) and.... eggs?
He is allergic to eggs?
Granted, on the grand scale of all things allergy related, it isn't huge, but it is big enough to show up on a blood test. I feel very confused by this and all the numbers and what it means for my son. Is that the cause for his constant runny nose? Will it get worse?
Even more frustrating, I tested positive for a wheat allergy a month or so ago. The allergy was diagnosed by skin prick test and I've decided to go in for a blood test to confirm it.
As I sit here, itching and sneezing and feeling sad that I can't eat a piece of toast without having to bake the bread myself, I can't help but wonder what's in store for us. Are the carefree days of eating whatever gone? Are his allergies here to stay? Will they get worse?
Did you or your child ever test positive for a food allergy without showing any of the classical symptoms?
Just the other day, we had the official blood test for allergies done. I was shocked to see that it came back for dairy (expected) and.... eggs?
He is allergic to eggs?
Granted, on the grand scale of all things allergy related, it isn't huge, but it is big enough to show up on a blood test. I feel very confused by this and all the numbers and what it means for my son. Is that the cause for his constant runny nose? Will it get worse?
Even more frustrating, I tested positive for a wheat allergy a month or so ago. The allergy was diagnosed by skin prick test and I've decided to go in for a blood test to confirm it.
As I sit here, itching and sneezing and feeling sad that I can't eat a piece of toast without having to bake the bread myself, I can't help but wonder what's in store for us. Are the carefree days of eating whatever gone? Are his allergies here to stay? Will they get worse?
Did you or your child ever test positive for a food allergy without showing any of the classical symptoms?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-02-2007 @ 3:31PM
S. Kelly said...How strange that this would come up today! I just had my 10-year-old daughter tested for several suspected allergens this past Wednesday (peanuts, shellfish, cats, and pollen to name a few). Turns out, she had no significant reaction to ANY of them -- even though she had exhibited symptoms of being allergic to ALL of them!
I have done some research and talked extensively with the doctor and it turns out that "false positives" are WAY more common in these tests than false negatives. In other words, your son may NOT be allergic to eggs -- especially if he has never had any sign of a reaction.
And, more interestingly, the blood test is NOT more reliable than the scratch test (according to this doctor); BOTH can give false positives!
So, have him checked again (maybe twice more) before you start to panic... it might be an error.
Reply
6-02-2007 @ 4:21PM
Jan Bay said...As I've posted before our little one is allergic to more foods than she is allowed to eat! The allergy to peanuts is the by far the scariest but the others bring about a lot of itchy uncomfortable days.
We had no idea that there might be a problem to eggs before she was tested. She had even had a flu shot with no visible reaction.
Jan from www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com
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6-02-2007 @ 4:56PM
Bryan said...This is such a source of confusion Rachael. These blood tests are notoriously tricky or, more importantly, nonspecific. A child can have antibodies to a particular food but not have a problem with it. In fact, as a pediatric gastroenterologist who deals with lots of issues related to food and intolerance, I've avoid the blood testing when possible since it can create more confusion than it solves.
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6-02-2007 @ 5:05PM
Ethel said...As for the desire for bread without baking it yourself - EnerG breads are pretty good and taste pretty close to the real thing toasted, just don't use margarine with them: http://www.ener-g.com/
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6-02-2007 @ 5:32PM
Catherine said...I wish! My son was tested and out of 75 foods, he reacted to 74! He seemed allergic to everything. I ordered food from around the world, trying to find something this kid could eat. He eats such a boring diet, but I managed to keep him alive. He is 19y old now, they said he would live a year...
Catherine from http://frugalbabytips.blogspot.com
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6-02-2007 @ 5:52PM
felikxl said...We took our son, 14 months at the time, to the allergist to test him for milk allergy. He came out with a slight sensitivty to it but came up allergic to wheat with the skin test. We were very surprised since he loved wheat and we had not clue that this was a possibility. As soon as we stopped him having wheat, all of his nasty blowouts stopped. THere has only been one mistake since that caused major gas issues for a week and a half.
From what I have read, the skin test is more accurate. There are many great wheat free and dairy free foods that my son enjoys. He love Rice Bran crackers, rice bread, rice everything it seems. I also teach special education and have many children with food allergies including one with corn, one with egg, two with milk, and other's that can't do certain foods due to medications. It is amazing how many children have to deal with these issues.
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6-03-2007 @ 1:24AM
michelle said...i've never noticed a reaction to peanuts but i'm suppose to be allergic. i just don't know what my reaction is. i test allergic to them 10 years ago with a prick test adn by blood test 6 months ago. since i don't know what the reation is i have cut it from my diet but don't worry about traces. i have other food allergies to avacado, citrus and mellons but i feel a reaction wither while i'm eating it. neither test found other food allergies and i was told food alergies are hard to test for.
Reply
6-03-2007 @ 8:47AM
LS said...My dad, several years ago (like, 20?), did the allergy test (skin). He turned up allergic to fish (this, we knew), tomatoes, corn, and a whole host of other things that he regularly ate, and still eats. The only thing he avoids is fish. He declared that the skin tests are a bunch of bunk, except to confirm what you already know.
I would go along with the rest of the posters here... take the test with a grain of salt, and perhaps do your own food test - eliminate foods, add them back in, until you determine yourself what the problem is. That seems to be the most reliable method.
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6-04-2007 @ 8:20AM
David Robinson said...I am a retired pediatrician who runs a blog (e-mail if more detail required). Skin or blood tests for food allergies are notoriously unreliable. They merely indicate a possibility.
To know for sure if your child is allergic to eggs, put him on an egg free diet for 3 weeks - a lot of home cooking required and keep a diary of any allergy symptoms. Then reintroduce egg and continue the record. At the end of the 2nd 3 weeks you will know yourself whether egg upsets him. You could try the same thing for bread for yourself.
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6-04-2007 @ 6:23PM
Kim said...Food allergies suck, but life does seem normal once again. At 17 months, my daughter almost died from eating a tiny piece of cashew http://callmezari.blogspot.com/2006/03/without-shock.html.
The allergist didn't do a skin test for fear of a second anaphlyactic reaction, so we did blood testing. Turns out she has an allergy to egg as high as cashew and all other nuts (except walnuts, oddly...). For those who know the numbers, it's a 5. Anyway, I pretty much ignored the egg thing because I didn't believe it (although she never did accept eggs or pancakes- a sign of an allergy). On her 2nd birthday, after a few prior ignored birthday party cake hives, she got bad hives after one bite of my nut-free, but with egg, homemade cupcakes. So no more eggs for her.
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