Why not blood test instead of TED?

[nalo]

Haven't done any research yet. Couldn't we just do the ELISA and/or RAST blood test and get to the point much quicker? Is it that these tests are not accurate for babies?

[chantald]

I have read time and again and been told over and over, skin and blood tests for allergies are highly inaccurate in children under the age of 4.. some people say under the age of 6..

[naturegirl7]

We did a blood test for IgG allergies (delayed) with our doc thru Immuno Labs.

I hve read that skin tests are highly unreliable - especially in young kids.

The Rast only does Ana. allergies - which helps but not in finding delayed - the IgG test or the TED works at finding those. We did the TED - for 2.5 months until we gave up and did the IgG test - good thing cuz he was reactive to rice and the entire squash family. Took that out -ezcema gone, ear infections gone, sleeping better, temperment better, poop normal, gas gone.....we would not have known if we didn't do the test.

I totally believe in doing both.

[jplain]

I think both types of blood tests (IgE and IgG) can be useful, but they can also give you more or less information than you know what to do with. Some kids test positive to lots of foods that they consume without any issues. Others test negative to everything, despite obvious and severe reactions.

Of course if your child has immediate and/or anaphylactic-type reactions upon ingestion, IgE testing can be a very important part of keeping your child safe. With isolated skin or gut reactions, especially ones that don't appear for at least a few hours after ingestion, IgG blood testing can be very enlightening or it can be an exercise in frustration. Many doctors are reluctant to order it because there's no consensus in the field about what to do with results.

For example, a child who tests positive to a ton of things may not really be allergic/intolerant to all of them. Instead, they appear to be allergic/intolerant because their intestines are allowing large food molecules to leak into the bloodstream, and this sensitizes the immune system. The real issue is the leaky gut (and/or yeast and/or bacterial overgrowth, etc.), and after that is addressed, some or all of those positives may fade. On the other hand, withdrawing those foods might help the gut heal, so having test results might be helpful during the healing phase.

Good luck figuring out what to do for your family!