Allergy Testing

I'm so glad November is here...October was super crazy in terms of having sick children, busy at work, favorite tree infested with beetles and getting cut down, computer crashing, busy weekend plans, etc... I'm also glad November is here because that is when my children get re-tested for their food allergies. They will both be tested with the skin test, you know, the one where they scratch the surface of the skin with about 50 or so potential allergens. My daughter goes in today, and my son will go in later this month. Since she is down to just 2 food allergies at the age of 6 years, I'm so hoping she will completely outgrow the food allergies! My son goes back later this month, but since his list of food allergies has grown to 7 things, I am not so hopeful that he is yet to the stage of improvement. According to the allergist, highly allergic kids tend to get better during the preschool years, and he is only 16 months old.

My daughter had received the RAST blood test a couple of times, but the allergist said that there tends to be false positives and negatives with the RAST more than with the skin test. Poor thing, this morning at the breakfast table she was sneezing and sniffling, because unfortunately she was unable to take anti-histamines for the past few days. This allows for more accurate results.
She will also be tested for environmental allergens including pets, dust, mold, pollens, etc. Last time she came out allergic to dogs, dust, ragweed, and oak tree pollen. We will be considering allergy shots, because so many times when she is playing outside, the allergens trigger an asthma attack. I want her to get better, not to live isolated in a bubble!

We really need to keep in mind that these little kids with allergies are impacted in all areas of life. When you have allergies, you may feel sluggish and not all that interested in playing or school work!