ImmunoCAP® Specific IgE test

[mamainmotion]

Have any of you had this blood test?
How the heck do you get a 3 year old to do a blood draw?

I have eliminated, reintroduced so many times.
I have know my ds had allergies since the first day he was born, he had colostrum and got the ring around the butt.
Well, after several ND, acupuncture and many diets I just need to know.
His eyes look so bad, allergy shiners and they haven't improved with our latest wheat/gluten elimination. I am watching and listening to all signs and feeling at a loss. I don't know if it something else in our environment and maybe not even food.
We'll I do know he has some food like milk, soy, wheat (maybe) and sensitives to acidic food.
he just stated doing this throat noise like he is trying to clear it but it's just a short clear, hard to explain.
He had some accupunture re-patterning done and there was positive results with sleep, behavior.

So any way have you done this test?
I have been researching all the tests and the one has the least false positives and neg. and they have been researching for 25 years I think.
It also screens for 200 allergens.


A

[circlemama]

I have found this test to be very accurate for my dd's allergies. We get blood drawn at a children's hospital, the phlebotomist's there are great and only deal with kids. This test is not 100%, but can be a good starting point.

[wendy1221]

Most people just say RAST. Old RAST is now obsolete, replaced w/ CAP-RAST, so anytime you see someone saying RAST, this is what they meant. My oldest and I test negative to everything on RAST. I have no idea why. Actually ds1 also tested - to SPT, but by then he HAD outgrown most things, so who knows. SPT was more accurate then me, but I know it can go both ways, and some people neither is accurate or both are.

Liam had RAST drawn on Mon and it was a NIGHTMARE. But I'm hoping for good news.

[circlemama]

Immunocap is a brand of RAST testing. Just like saying kleenex is a brand of tissues. Immunocap is known to be the gold standard of allergy blood testing.
It can still be inaccurate, but a good guide.

[tribalmax]

DD had her blood drawn and it was not as horrible as I thought it would be. We went to the hospital and requested that they call the nicu nurses down to do it (as they have much more experience getting the draw on the first try).

We talked to DD about it and practiced on her doll. The nurses drew the dolls blood first. When it was DD's turn, I was holding her and singing. She was a little scared and wanted it to stop before it was over -- but she didn't cry.

Good luck! While they are drawing the blood, ask your ped and the allergist to run every test they can think of -- environmental allergies, CBC, iron levels...whatever they think could come in handy -- this way, if you don't find the answers you are looking for, you can get as much bang for your buck -- meaning the child won't have to suffer through multiple draws -- not in reference to money...

[ChasingPeace]

My ds had this test a few months ago (he was 2 1/2). The biggest problem with the blood draw was when the doctor cleaned his arm--he has bad eczema and the alcohol hurt it. He did not cry or wince at the blood draw, but he doesn't get many vaxes so that might have something to do with it. The doctor was hesitant to do it that day (thinking he might be uncooperative) because she said she usually gives the child some sort of patch to put on earlier in the day (I'm not sure if it is to numb the area or what), so this might be something to ask about.

ABout the test itself---ds came up with allergies to many common foods: rice, oatmeal, eggs, milk, cheese, brewers yeast, bakers yeast, wheat, coconut, and peanuts. The milk, cheese, and peanuts were not a surprise, but the rest were. I'm not sure how much faith I put in the results. What most disturbed me about the test is that a week before getting the test, ds had broken out in welts all over his body after eating tomatoes, and had earlier broke out in hives from eating eggplant. I believed nightshades would come up as an allergy, since I know these are bad allergies for him. They did not. I asked the doctor, and she said that the test does not show foods to which he might have an anaphylactic reaction. WTF????!!!