Food Allergy Testing

[DeannaK]

I am thinking about getting tested for food allergies or intolerences. Any suggestions on this? I was told by a friend to have the "igg Elisa" test.

Also, at what age can you test children for food allergies?

[kjbrown92]

I got DS and DD2 allergy tested using intradermal testing (different from a scratch test in that the allergen is injected under the skin in 3 graduated doses). Both were negative to those.

The next year we did ALCAT testing. It differs from IgG intolerance testing in that it looks for an inflammatory response to the food. My DS was 7 and my DD2 had just turned 3. For us, it was very accurate, with only one false negative for each. And they gave us a rotation diet to follow with the remaining foods, which we're still following (18 months later). We've added some foods back in since then, but not all.

[changingseasons]

For "true" allergies (immediate-reaction/anaphylactic/IgE-mediated), you can see a regular allergist and they can do a SPT or intradermal (skin), RAST (blood), and few will do patch testing (although I have yet to find one that will do it for foods.)

For for intolerances (delayed-reaction/IgG-mediated or other inflammatory response), you can do patch testing, ELISA, or ALCAT.

There are a few labs out there that will do a combined IgG/IgE test as well- but you want one that separates the results so you know which is which.

You can also do alternative testing for either, such as muscle/crystal testing, NAET, etc.

NONE of these test are 100% accurate, especially the standard allergy testing (SPT/RAST) on a babe that young.

All that said... the gold standard in food allergy testing is elimination/challenge, and it's important to keep a food journal!

[DeannaK]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

NONE of these test are 100% accurate, especially the standard allergy testing (SPT/RAST) on a babe that young!

I was thinking of having my 3 1/2 yo tested also.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by DeannaK

I was thinking of having my 3 1/2 yo tested also.

That age is more accurate- I was told by my allergist that they aren't really accurate until about 2yo.

eta: but the age thing is just for the standard allergy testing. For ELISA (at least the one we used), I'm told age makes no difference.

[JENinOR]

I'm waiting on my results for usbiotek's ELISA 96. I don't know much about other labs/tests but moms I know who have had other testing done swear by this one and THIS lab.

[AustinMom]

My son had many allergies during infancy, sadly we couldn't breastfeed and had a lot of trouble with formula.

I went to the allergist after changing pediatricians (as they were horribly unhelpful) and we did a scratch test. Based on the research I did the tests are 50% accurate for false and positive results, and don't do anything about intolerances, which he had to milk.

The best thing you can do is an elimination diet. This is what I did and what the allergist told me. This way you find the intolerances and the allergies and you can "retest" for free on your own time.

Have them on a diet free of all potential triggers (intolerances and allergies). Look for the common ones, soy, milk, egg, wheat, nuts, etc. Introduce a typical serving if they have had the food before, small amount if they haven't or you suspect a severe reaction. If no reaction the first day, up or give the same amount if started with normal portion size, the next day, till you see a reaction or about day 3 or 4. I can't stress enough how important and convenient it is to keep a journal with all this.

Signs to look for:
Rash around the mouth, usually within seconds to minutes of eating food
Trouble breathing
eczema on ANY part of body, usually within the next couple days. His was soy, and he would get it on his legs
Congestion (rhinitis) usually within a couple minutes
Diarrhea, usually within 12 hrs or so, a friend of him found out it was chocolate with hers, and it would show the next morning
throwing up usually within hours
stomach aches/gassiness, in little ones, this is hard to tell, but you can usually tell by increased fussiness and lots of tooties
there are more, but these are all I can think of.

Looking back, I think I would skip the testing that I did and just do the elimination diet.

[DeannaK]

Will most Naturopathic docs know about this?

The testing is mostly for me. I have been feeling terrible lately. I had what I thought was food poisoning just after Christmas, but now I'm thinking it was salmonella poising. The lingering effects are horrible. My gut is still messed up, I've had migraines quite often. A friend of mine suggested I get food sensitivity tested. She swore it changed her whole life.

After doing some reading about food issues I felt like my 3 1/2 yo may benefit from it also.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by DeannaK

Will most Naturopathic docs know about this?

Yes- definitely.

[ourdayourjourney]

I am glad this thread came up, I was just going to post of this topic.

My oldest was allergic to egg and a skin test revealed that. She was around 1 years old.

My little one (9 months) is going to an allergy specialist. He previously had blood work and it says that no significant level detected for IgE. It seems the consensus seems to be that the blood test is not the most accurate for young children. Our ND believes he his allergic to something I am eating, so she has me eliminating soy, dairy, egg and wheat from my diet. I am really interested in finding out exactly what he may be allergic to. What is the most accurate test?