blood test protocol?

[DollyX]

Hi everyone,
i'm wondering if someone (or everyone) can give me the scoop on the protocol for the MAST blood test (i think also the same as RASt andsimilar to Elisa). We have a great allergy doc, and we are seeing him thursday, hoping to be able to do the test then. but i want to be prepared! I know i have to expose my dd, who is 20 months, to various foods on the list to be tested...i have been gluten free as much as humanly possible for many years due to my own bad slow reaction type symptoms...i quit dairy when she was 5 weeks old due to her bad reaction to it, colic and crying nonstop and vomiting. she was practically instantly better. so my plan is to eat these things and a couple other foods i care about finding out about, and exposing her via my breastmilk, rather than bombarding her system with the full-on heavy dose of these foods unmitigated by my system...what do y'all think of this plan? i have read that it is best to wait 4 days in between new exposures, but is that because otherwise i won't know the cause if symptoms erupted? i know these tests aren't the most accurate but i am looking for a little more info to go on,ykwim? anyone have experiences with this they can share???
thanks!!!!

[mclisa]

Did he tell you that you need to have consumed these products prior to testing?

My dd3 hasn't had milk or eggs (or a number of other foods) for a year and still was positive for them. We tested her with an immunocap blood test. It has a 95% accuracy (similar to skin prick testing) compared to RAST (60%) accuracy.

[DollyX]

i dont know the immunocap blood test- i'll google it. my doc likes this test which is called the MAST and having done the elisa i feel like it is worthwhile. he says he finds it is more accuarte if the person has been exposed to the allergen at least once- i guess then your body will show and immune response when the blood test is done, if you have an intolerance or allergy. still, i hear what you are saying- i haven't had gluten for over five years but i still test positive for them. i guess i am just hoping for the test to be as accurate as possible, given the fact that no test is 100%...oh why isn't there a test that IS 100%????