can allergy tests give false negatives?

[Anastacia91]

I know this may have already been asked, but I'm new on here and an concerned. since I was a child I had ear infections constantly. I would also get sick, get hives, and have a hard time breathing when I ate apples or cinnamon. My sister has many allergies so my mom never bothered to test me, just limited my exposure. Now that I'm older I got a job at a grocery store, not smart I know but a job is better than no job. My allergies are getting worse and my reactions more severe. My family dr gave me an epipen and I've been to a dermatologist for my eczema and shim sensitivity caused by my allergies according to them. My dr finally suggested I see an allergist, and my allergist agrees I'm having a reaction but he doesn't know what to. Hes given me a scratch test, a interdermal scratch test, and a blood test but its coming back negative on the things I react to and positive on the things I dont.
He said its hard to diagnose since they can't get a completely accurate reading since my skin is sensitive and I react to everything. And the blood test can't be accurate until I'm reaction free for three weeks but I can't be if I dont know what to be careful around. (besides apples and cinnamon). All the doctors say that seems to be what I'm allergic to so why us my blood test reading negative?

[pek64]

When you say cinnamon, do you mean ground cinnamon? Do you have any problems with any other ground spices? I ask because ground spices often have cornstarch added to prevent clumping. Apples can be coated with wax, which can contain dairy and soy. So, there can be hidden allergens. What things did you test positive on?

[Anastacia91]

Sugar cane, pine trees, dust, cats, and eggs. Never had a problem with any of it. If I'm even near cinnamon I swell up and can't breath never even attempted to eat it. If I touch a package its in same thing. Like cinnamon poptarts. Apples aren't as extreme. If I touch them I get a rash and my skin feels like its on fire. At first my dr thought it might be the skin so I tried apple pie, cinnamon free of course, and I had to go to the hospital. I can't even feed my sisters baby because so much of the food has apple concentrate. I found out when if break out and had to start reading labels. I only react to those two things but I react badly.

[pek64]

Cinnamon poptarts would contain sugar cane. I guess you have other exposure to sugar cane without a reaction, is that true? I'm not sure what else is in cinnamon poptarts. It may be that you are reacting to something other than cinnamon. Have you had other exposure to cinnamon?

Apple pie would also have sugar cane. But you mentioned other apple sources. Does that include apple juice?

Apples is making me think of salysomething. There was a thread a month or two ago. Salicylate, I think it was. Maybe you should google it.

Allergy testing can have results that differ from what happens when you eat something. Allergies are acknowledged only when there is a specific reaction. Other reactions are termed intollerances or sensitivities. The semantics don't make a difference when you feel rotten. To health care workers, however, the semantics are important.

So what I'm saying is you can react even if it doesn't count as an allergy.

[Anastacia91]

Apple juice, baby food, apple slices, etc.

Cinnamon is usually mixed with sugar so idk if thats what it is but I eat sugar and sweets and dont react then. Also, the christmas decor that is cinnamon scented can set me off. I dont know why.

my dr did say that if I'm over exposed, which has been happening lately with the seasonal stuff at work, it can make my allergy worse? Idk how that works.

[Anastacia91]

Also my grandma when I was younger spilt cinnamon on the floor when she dropped the bottle and I picked the bottle up and I remember instantly feeling sick and itchy and on fire. Other than that since my sister had allergies my mom already knew how to handle it and taught me how to be extremely cautious to exposure.

[JRoberge]

My son tested negative to dairy, soy, gluten, and corn, but when he ate things before they caused severe eczema. Removing them was the only way we could tell they were true allergies as the skin and blood tests came back negative. It's been a year since he hasn't eaten any of these foods, so we tested them recently via a food challenge. He started wheezing and coughing with hives, so the allergies have worsened.

Can you eat these foods every once in a while? If so, try to eat them sporaticaly in order to avoid having your reaction worsen, like has happened with my son. To know for sure it's the foods you think it is, try removing them 100% from your diet for one month. Then add just cinnamon in for a few days and see how you do. Then do the same with apple.

Good luck! False negatives are rare (so the Dr.s claim) but they do happen.

[pek64]

Allergies cause an immune response, so when you're exposed daily, your immune system is already still cleaning up yesterday's contamination when more arrives today. It's ready to deal with it immediately, which you perceive as being more sensitive.

Since you know you have the problems with apples and cinnamon, you know to avoid them. Read labels for anything new, and periodically on old items. Sometimes there are changes without a total change of the label appearance. Fruit juices and spices should also be avoided, since the juice could be apple and the spice could be cinnamon. I don't really have any advice regarding working around cinnamon. It seems like you'll just have to struggle through this month, staying as far away from cinnamon sources as you can. Good luck with that!

Do you have any other questions?

[Anastacia91]

Yea I can't eat them at all since I can't touch then but I have wanted to eventually get to a place where hopefully I can not react by just being near it.
Im going to talk to my dr about the salicylate thing too. Thank you. I applied for a desk job do I can be as safe as possible hopefully that will help. Otherwise I'm extremely careful about reading labels. I'm hoping that if I can get away from the exposure I can start to rebuild my tolerance afterwards. Thank you both. I just felt overwhelmed and when the dr said he was up against a wall I started to think if I look into this maybe I can help. When my skin was overtly sensitive I went to the dermatologist and that helped my allergist know what to cross off. Maybe now I can help eliminate more ange be closer to finding a solution. Thanks again