What to expect at allergist?

[Caden's Mom]

We know DS is allergic to dairy, but we don't know how allergic as the ped didn't tell us that. I have a list of other things I'd like him tested for such as: strawberries, goat's milk, coconut, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, shellfish, what, and corn. Is this list too long to ask the allergist to test for?

What else will happen at our first allergist app't? Should I talk to him about getting an Epi Jr?

[fostermomcchr]

My son went to an allergist, he tested him for tons of stuff, so a long list is not a problem. The appt started with a history taken by the nurse, wanted to know any symptoms, problems, if we had any ideas on what the allergies were, etc. The doc came in, checked him out, talked with both of us-he is 12 yrs old-and gave a list of foods to eliminate to start to see what the problems were caused by. Then he had him tested for a ton of things, we had to sit and wait for any reactions-think it was 30 min-then we saw the doc again so he could determine what exactly he was allergic to, he was given benydryl for the extreme itching and slight swelling the tests caused.

[lauriem33]

I'd be interested to hear more experiences with this. I've been going back and forth over getting myself and dd's tested as I'm not sure how accurate the testing actually is. Did others find it to be worthwhile? I know lots of people recommend just doing the elimination diet, but I'd like to have some specific direction as to what to eliminate.

[wendy1221]

Allergy testing is very inaccurate in kids under 2-4. So you might be lucky and get some positives and negatives, or you might be unlucky and everything comes up either + or all -. Elimination diet is the only sure way to know what the baby's allergies are.