[gigismom]

Hi ladies... i have been lurking forever it seems in this forum. i am now convinced i need to have dd2 formally tested for allergies. she is 4yo. she had horrible itchy diaper rash since.... forever. this changed to patches of itchy reddness on her inner thighs once she potty learned that still remains. the dermatologist says she has eczema and it is not related to any allergy but rather to her skin- type. she prescribed a cotizone creme that i am not comfortable with using but do use sometimes when she is so uncomfortable and can't stop itching. but, the rash never goes away. she also has bumpiness on the back of her arms..can't remember the medical term for this. she has a daily morning episode of intense sneezing that produces copious amounts of... well, snot. she also gets "wheezy" occasionally during a cold which has necessitated a nebulizer 2x in her life. these are my reasons for feeling like there is something to look at here as far as allergies... i was also a very allergic kid and had severe asthma as a child

anyway, i really need help understanding what i am looking for here and how i should go about looking for it. i have read some of the stickies and am still confused. please help me with the basics and don't assume i know anything...

what is IgE and IgG...
RAST
skin testing
allergy/ intolerance

this is probably too much to ask in one post and please understand that i am not just being lazy here. i have read and read and am still confused. so many times the posts assume a certain level of knowledge that i clearly don't possess... then i am just more confused..

thanks for your help.

peace
jen

 

[gigismom]

oh yeah.. at what age are allergy tests considered reliable?

 

[changingseasons]

IgE and IgG - These are two different type of antibodies that can produce allergic reactions. IgE reactions are usually called "true" allergies, and cause immediate, sometimes anaphylactic symtpoms. IgG are often referred to as food intolerances, as they produce delayed reactions (from hours to days after ingesting an allergen).

Conventional allergy tests will only test for IgE, and many allergists don't even believe that food intolerances exist. RAST is the conventional blood test, and SPT (skin prick test) is the conventional skin test. There are alternative tests that show IgG allergies, such as ALCAT and ELISA.

None of those tests are 100% accurate at any age, but are notoriously unreliable before about 2 years of age.

Hope I answered all your questions.

Check out my blog (link in sig) for more info about testing, elimination diets (the cheapest and most reliable way to determine food allergies), and more.

 

[gigismom]

thank you for the reply... i think you did answer my questions all in one post.. wow!! i will check out your blog. i just hope this leads us somewhere with dd2. also, i think a read somewhere the frequent urination and excessive drinking of water can be a sign of allergy... anyone with experience with this

jen

 

[kjbrown92]

My DD2 used to drink a ton (like at a year old she was drinking 120-140 oz. a day). They tested her for diabetes twice. When I got all the food triggers out of her system, she went back down to a normal amount of liquids. What they're doing is drinking a lot to soothe their gut (of course if they're drinking their trigger item, then it's making things worse).

Eczema can be a sign of either allergy or intolerance. My DD2 had the rash between her legs on her thighs -- looked like chafing from diapers, but she still had it after she was potty trained. Doctor said it was eczema. Her trigger for that was corn. It went away completely when corn was removed (and that's hidden everywhere and isn't one of the top 8 allergens, so you have to search for that one). And she got it back whenever she got into corn or I didn't read a label correctly. Now, at 3.5yo, she doesn't get that anymore, she gets "folliculitis" on her butt from corn. Still a reaction, different symptoms.

We had intradermal allergy testing, where they inject the substance under the skin. Was supposed to be more accurate than typical skin prick testing. Both my intolerant kids passed all those with flying colors. At least it ruled out IgE allergies to those foods. Then I got them the ALCAT tests (for IgG intolerances) about a year later). We've been off those foods for about 6 months, and that really made a difference.

 

[gigismom]

so... do docs generally write orders for the alternative IgG tests? or is this something i am going to have to search for.... thanks for the replies

jen

 

[changingseasons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gigismom so... do docs generally write orders for the alternative IgG tests? or is this something i am going to have to search for.... thanks for the replies jen

Depends on the test, and whether you have insurance coverage for it... I think the ALCAT you can just order directly (is that right Kathy?), but may or may not be covered by your insurance. Same with ELISA- but that one (at least the ones that I've used) you have to get it ordered by a doc. We asked our ped to order ours, and it was actually covered under our insurance. Good thing too, because DD's ELISA was $2800!! Don't worry... mine was only $125. There's a big range in prices from all the different labs, and even differences in how they do the tests. DD's was IgG and immune complex (whatever that is), and mine was a combined IgG and IgE ELISA.

 

[Koalamom]

I am glad someone is asking about the specifics about allergy testing. I was wondering how good the tests are. My daughter is allergic to soy, but fine with temphe and miso. She is allergic to raw milk and pasteurized milk, but fine with raw yogurt or kefir. I never wanted to get my daughter tested because I thought the tests weren't going to be specific enough, and I would live my whole life dealing with an allergy to "milk" and not allowing something tolerable.

 

[nalo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1 I am glad someone is asking about the specifics about allergy testing. I was wondering how good the tests are. My daughter is allergic to soy, but fine with temphe and miso. She is allergic to raw milk and pasteurized milk, but fine with raw yogurt or kefir. I never wanted to get my daughter tested because I thought the tests weren't going to be specific enough, and I would live my whole life dealing with an allergy to "milk" and not allowing something tolerable.

That's interesting and not surprising to me. So...she tolerates the fermented versions of these foods, basically, but not the regular forms. Sounds like you know the answers to your specific situation and testing would not be worthwhile.

 

[Koalamom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoulaMary That's interesting and not surprising to me. So...she tolerates the fermented versions of these foods, basically, but not the regular forms. Sounds like you know the answers to your specific situation and testing would not be worthwhile.

But so many people sound stressed at the allergy results for their children, (like changingseasons latest results - so sorry mama), but perhaps it is too broad of a result. It is hard to cut out all dairy, and I bet lots of people that test allergic to milk are fine with raw kefir, but some may not be. I just don't know if I would change my whole lifestyle based on an allergy test. I bet they are using homogenized pasteurized milk from hormone laden cooped up cows. Is there a way for the doctors to test more specifically?

 

[kjbrown92]

When we did the ALCAT, we ordered directly from the company. I had our ped. write a prescription, to see if that would help get reimbursed from the insurance company, but no dice. They didn't cover a penny. It was around $500 per child.

We tested our kids on goats milk (no, also bad on ALCAT test), yogurt (no), water buffalo milk cheese (DS okay, DD2 and I no). So we have tested other forms that weren't on the test. We trial everything new that wasn't already tested. But for a starting point, it was nice.

 

[changingseasons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1 But so many people sound stressed at the allergy results for their children, (like changingseasons latest results - so sorry mama), but perhaps it is too broad of a result. It is hard to cut out all dairy, and I bet lots of people that test allergic to milk are fine with raw kefir, but some may not be. I just don't know if I would change my whole lifestyle based on an allergy test. I bet they are using homogenized pasteurized milk from hormone laden cooped up cows. Is there a way for the doctors to test more specifically?

It's not that hard to cut it out 100% if you know that it is hurting your child. Not that allergy tests are always accurate, but if you've seen reactions, and THEN have an allergy test that also shows positive to something, it's a pretty clear answer.

Your situation really is the exception to the rule- most people that are allergic to dairy (or whatever) are allergic to all of it, no matter how processed. I'm of the mindset that the safer the better. Even if symptoms don't appear the same with smaller amounts, or fermented versions, I'm not going to risk it. It's possible that there is still a reaction happening- it's just not big enough to manifest itself externally (it could just be causing inflammation in the gut).

 

[nalo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by changingseasons It's not that hard to cut it out 100% if you know that it is hurting your child. Not that allergy tests are always accurate, but if you've seen reactions, and THEN have an allergy test that also shows positive to something, it's a pretty clear answer. Your situation really is the exception to the rule- most people that are allergic to dairy (or whatever) are allergic to all of it, no matter how processed. I'm of the mindset that the safer the better. Even if symptoms don't appear the same with smaller amounts, or fermented versions, I'm not going to risk it. It's possible that there is still a reaction happening- it's just not big enough to manifest itself externally (it could just be causing inflammation in the gut).

Yes. Despite what I wrote earlier I also agree with this. If, in fact, your LO was really having zero impact from the fermented versions of these foods it is WAY the exception. But...there is always the chance of unseen issues. And, it's hard at first but I venture to say most of us on this board are dairy free and doing just fine. It's just an adjustment.

 

[lil_miss_understood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoulaMary Yes. Despite what I wrote earlier I also agree with this. If, in fact, your LO was really having zero impact from the fermented versions of these foods it is WAY the exception. But...there is always the chance of unseen issues. And, it's hard at first but I venture to say most of us on this board are dairy free and doing just fine. It's just an adjustment.

Yep, an adjustment for sure and another one agreeing that that would be an exception.
FWIW, when I asked my allergist what "kind" of milk the company we tested through used, he said they used raw dairy from Jersey cows (apparently he'd had a patient ask this same question before). Supposedly, raw dairy from Jersey's has the least reaction so that's what this particular company used.

: Also, the ELISA we did tested for whole milk, casein, whey, yogourt, 2 or 3 different cheeses, cottage cheese, goat milk... It was pretty specific. It also broke down the grains into: wheat, gluten, gliadin, barley, oats, rye, spelt, etc and so forth.
So although ds1 didn't react to barley, because he did react to gluten, gliadin and wheat (and spelt and rye), I *assume* that barley's a false negative and don't feed it to him.

 

[gigismom]

ok... we have an appt tomarrow at the pediatrician. just so i have my head straight, not to be redundant. the ALCAT and ELISA tests are for IgG reactions (or the food "intolerances"). the doctor will just write this on the script that i take to the lab? or i have to order it directly from the company? If I have to order directly from the company do I then take it to the doctor and have her do and intepret the test? IgE tests (RAST and SPT) are the typical tests that we want to see if she has any potentially anaphylactic reactions. Is this right? I really appreciate all of your help and thoughts..

peace

jen

 

[Chinese Pistache]

A regular pediatrician? No, they will not order ALCAT or ELISA. The IgG tests for intolerances are not mainstream tests; usually you need to see a more holistic doctor. If you need to discuss intolerances (gastro problems), you might ask for a referral from a GI doctor, but even one of those is very unlikely to know about or order alcat or elisa. If the ped orders any test at all it will be RAST blood test for IgE, and that you would take to a lab. If you want IgE skin prick tests, you need to see an allergist specifically. A regular ped won't likely have that stuff in office nor be trained to do it well. Good luck tomorrow.

 

[changingseasons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gigismom ok... we have an appt tomarrow at the pediatrician. just so i have my head straight, not to be redundant. the ALCAT and ELISA tests are for IgG reactions (or the food "intolerances"). the doctor will just write this on the script that i take to the lab? or i have to order it directly from the company? If I have to order directly from the company do I then take it to the doctor and have her do and intepret the test? IgE tests (RAST and SPT) are the typical tests that we want to see if she has any potentially anaphylactic reactions. Is this right? I really appreciate all of your help and thoughts.. peace jen

Yep, you got it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache A regular pediatrician? No, they will not order ALCAT or ELISA. The IgG tests for intolerances are not mainstream tests; usually you need to see a more holistic doctor. If you need to discuss intolerances (gastro problems), you might ask for a referral from a GI doctor, but even one of those is very unlikely to know about or order alcat or elisa. If the ped orders any test at all it will be RAST blood test for IgE, and that you would take to a lab. If you want IgE skin prick tests, you need to see an allergist specifically. A regular ped won't likely have that stuff in office nor be trained to do it well. Good luck tomorrow.

They might- our ped did. But I went into the office with all the information in hand. I would do some research on which test and which lab you want to use, check with your insurance first if you're going to submit it... find out how the lab works (some have to send the kit to a doctor, some send it directly to you, same with results)... and then take all that information to your doc and say "this is what I want- fill out this form for me and fax it to the lab." That's what I did anyway.

 

[lil_miss_understood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by changingseasons Y They might- our ped did. But I went into the office with all the information in hand. I would do some research on which test and which lab you want to use, check with your insurance first if you're going to submit it... find out how the lab works (some have to send the kit to a doctor, some send it directly to you, same with results)... and then take all that information to your doc and say "this is what I want- fill out this form for me and fax it to the lab." That's what I did anyway.

Speaking of which, which lab did you go through for your ELISA?

 

[changingseasons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquelineR Speaking of which, which lab did you go through for your ELISA?

We went through Sage for DD's, and Meridian Valley Lab for mine. Hers was WAY expensive, but covered under insurance... mine was super cheap, and we paid out of pocket.