Thanks for this info, but this is frustrating. My allergist wants to re-test (skin test) my daughter at 10 months before we begin introducing the top 8. Isn't it better to test rather than potentially have an at-home reaction to something that might have shown up on the skin test?
What I get from that is that the testing itself could be false and not worth it. however if a child is at risk, there are other safe methods to introduce those foods, like an in office challenge.
Thanks MonsterMom Yes, I guess the part that's missing is what will we do if she DOES test positive to a food? As you said, i suppose an office challenge is in the works. Going to definitely ask the allergist!
I hate that my insurance doesn't cover the allergy testing or the food challenge. Which leaves me with no choice but to do home challenges. This is very scary for me! What else can be done?
That is very scary. It's important to do oral food challenges in a medically supervised setting with immediate availability of medical support/intervention in the event of a reaction. Your insurance won't cover any type of allergy testing? Neither skin or blood testing?
No, I can't insurance because this is the insurance through my husbands work. There is no way I'm going to be able to do a food challenge at home. I'm way too frightened of what could happen but what else is one to do when you know that at some point you have to know?! Talked with doctor today (left message) and asked if there is a way around it. They wouldn't even pay for the skin or blood allergy test. It's crazy! Our insurance is amazing and we've had 14 years. Never had to use the...
I can't even wrap my head around an insurance that won't cover allergy stuff Allergies are such a widespread condition that can lead to time off work, etc. Hopefully the doctor has some good guidance for what you can do.
I'm hoping to hear something back! Praying they can come up with something different that my insurance will pay for. I can go to an allergist and pay my co-pay but when they want to start the testing, that's where my insurance stops! It ridiculous and I'm so upset about this. I know doctors can around it, some will and some won't. Hopefully I have one that will and can! Thank you all for your support! I don't have family or friends so it's difficult to deal with all by yourself.
Hi Paula, hopefully you find an allergist that you like and trust. Be upfront with the Doctor about the insurance issues and your concerns. Some allergists - not all - will allow patients to come and sit in the waiting room while the food is ingested. I hope you find one that you can work with. The other thing is, the allergy tests run about $1,500 depending on how many foods you're running. You may find that the cost is worth it?
Interested to see if anyone has information on two foods not related eg. peanuts and cotton seed oil. From what I have been reading cotton seed oil has the same weight and molecular structure as peanuts.
Very interesting information. It makes a lot of sense. My kids both have pollen allergies and both have had reactions/sensitivities to some fruits and pine nuts.
My daughter is allergic to cow's milk, egg, peanut and tree nut. She is 5 years old and has eaten apples (raw or cooked) without any issue for years. Last spring/summer she started complaining of itchy mouth after eating apples (in raw form). She ate them all winter (raw or cooked) with no issue. This spring started with more intense complaints of itchy mouth and itchy skin (no visible hives) after eating raw apples. Her IgE blood work was positive for apples (lower value, yet positive).
Hi Kara! That sounds like Oral Allergy Syndrome to me. My dd has OAS. I would consult with your allergist to see if cooked apples are okay or if you should avoid.
I am 43, and have some form of Oral Allergy Syndrome. I get small itchy blisters on my lips, roof of mouth, and down my throat, if I eat fresh fruit that you can eat the skin. This started about 8-9 years ago. I can't eat fresh apples, grapes, strawberries, peaches, etc. If you have to peel it, I can eat it. But I'm not allergic to the fruit itself. I can eat most frozen fruits, but not peaches. I believe its the pesticides used on the fruit. I've tried organic, and I get the same reaction.
My son has OAS with apples. His reaction did not occur immediately, but rather almost 12 hours later. I took a picture of his reaction and showed his allergist. Allergist agreed it was definitely OAS. Apparently his reaction was NOT common in that it took so long to show. Just something to think about...
Interesting possibility Eskimomama. My daughter has OAS and reacts differently to different varieties of the same fruit. Sometimes she can eat more, sometimes very little before she feels the reaction. Since it's a cross reactivity to the pollens, it seems to correlate with when the pollen is high or her overall allergy load is high (d/t environmental issues in general). But she reacts to conventional and organic. She seems to be able to eat dried fruits but we haven't really tried frozen.
Wow and THANKYOU I'm not mad or sooking. I starred getting itchy after eating fresh fruit and veg 7 years ago when pregnant, but midwife shurged it off as one of those things. And still have issues now. Had linked it to my reaction to pollens but that's all. So nice to see a reconised reason to what I feel.
Katie, welcome to KFA. So glad the blog could be helpful to you. It's always nice to see things in writing that confirm our suspicions or solve mysteries!
Eskimomama4, having any type of food or environmental reaction is inconvenient and frustrating to say the least. I hope it gives you some comfort to know it's actually very common with OAS to react to the skin of fruit but not the peeled fruit inside. Regarding peach, it's a different little beast. According to FARRP because the peach allergen is "heat-stable and highly concentrated under the fruit skin" they recommend avoidance all together. Meaning, sadly, you can't peel it and enjoy like...
Eskimomama, another thought I had was regarding the geographic area in which you live. Chances are you live in an area where there is little or no (for example) birch pollen but the store bought varieties come from regions where there is. Sounds like you should stick to local fruits for sure. Just a thought.
Hi Anjie - welcome to KFA and I'm glad you posted! It sounds like you are really struggling with your son's feeding issues and I'm sure we can help. I'm going to encourage you to post over on our forums where more people are likely to see and give you feedback. Include what his know allergies and any other medical issues. The more background you can give us, the better we will be able to help w/ ideas, resources, etc.
Thanks a lot I would really like him to eat some kind of food.But do Need help I have been trying nothing seems to work plz been say he'll grow out of it I am just hoping
My son has been skin pricked tested 4 times and the last time 3 month ago his tree nut came back negative. All other three skin prick test came back 6+ peanuts & 3+ tree nuts I was suprised when tree nuts came back negative. We still keep him away from all tree nut just to be on the safe side but what are the chances of him outgrowing just the tree nut since he was 3+ before? He is will be 13 in May and is doing great being his own advocate of his allergy and we are very proud of him. We...
In the 1990s I tested big positives to tree nuts and fish. Fast forward to 3 years ago. The same allergist skin tested me for tree nut and fish, and they all came back completely negative. My allergist questioned the results, and had me come back a few weeks later and had the tree nuts and fish skin tested again, as well as did blood work. This second time, my tree nuts skin test and the blood work all came back negative and I can eat them fine. However, my fish skin test and blood work all...
Tina - did he ever have a reaction to tree nuts? Or was that diagnosed on testing alone? Sorry about the school situation - is the school supposed to be nut free?
Thank you for this very detailed explanation. However, I'm not sure I agree with this statement "if your child can eat a food without developing any symptoms, then they are unlikely to be allergic to that food." My son has tested negative to pretty much every allergy skin prick and blood test - only positive to hazelnuts one time and walnuts another time, both in skin prick tests. He suffered from severe eczema, head to toe, and we were looking for answers. There was no particular food that...
Wow, that's great information thank you. I'm just wondering what you suggest since we fall into the category of my son being tested for allergies at a young age due to his eczema; however, he never tried any of the food before. Now we have an Epi pen for him as he was diagnosed with anaphylactic allergies. Thank you!
My daughter is now 13 and has always had belly issues. She had skin and RAST testing done as a toddler with no indications of food allergies. At 11 her belly isues worsened and RAST testing was redone with nujmerous positive results. We did skin testing and she was found to be allergic to milk, egg yolk, and fish. She has what you term a Non-IgE mediated reaction. Oncethe foods were fully eliminated from her diet her belly issues went away, she was no longer bloated and felt much better.
I think it's important to differentiate between "food allergy" (IgE mediated) and "food sensitivity". Both are immune mediated reactions, but involve different mediators (chemicals). Both are reactions brought on by food and both can make you very sick, although it is the food allergy that is likely to be life threatening. Even the symptoms brought on by each can be similar. For example, abdominal pain, diarrhea,vomiting,headache,asthma,and eczema can be triggered by a food sensitivity as...
We're going to invite Dr. Stukus to reply to some of the questions here. He won't be able to give you medical advice, of course, but he may be able to give out general information about the issues you have brought up. Eczema is a tough one to explain. I will defer that one to Dr. Stukus. Regarding the MRT post, I want to take issue with your last point. One is that if RAST or skin tests are negative a child could still have an immune-mediated non-IgE mediated food allergy as is explained in...
What advice to you give to parents of children with eczema/asthma who may have false positives from IgE testing? My daughter's IgE numbers are off the charts, and we've been avoiding likely allergens. The only food she's (accidently) ingested that we've avoided based on likely food allergy is cow's milk (to which she had an immediate negative reaction). We've consulted 2 allergists, and both have reommended avoiding the foods she's likely allergic to until she is 5 or 6 at which time they...
Jennifer: AGREED!!! DS was tested low score on WHEAT & SOY both skin test and blood test, we never took it seriously only avoided wheat by itself (wheat bread) and soy by itself (tofu, soybean..etc) but since birth he had eczema and stuffy nose throughout the year. We thought it's more related to seasonal/weather, but his skin problem and congestion issue lasted through summer-winter, hot OR cold seasons; we also thought it's environmental (dust mite) so we changed to special pillows/...
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