Is it worth going to an allergist?

I think it depends on the allergist. In my city, ironically, the really high-fallootin' allergists are probably the worst.

A typical conventional allergist would probably only do an IgE skin or blood test. The IgE blood tests are termed "inaccurate and inconclusive" by the American Association of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, but amazingly, that''s still all some allergists will do. The IgE skin tests are supposed to be pretty good.

Eczema could be caused by IgG (or Immunoglobulin G) responses, and those can be tracked by an IgG blood test. However, most allergists won't do that.

If your city has a DAN doctor that is an allergist, he/she would probably do the IgG blood test. There are also some rudimentary tests for IgA and IgM reactivities.

I saw a holistic pediatrician for my son's eczema, who told me if he had eczema, then he had a leaky gut. He also said to think not in terms of allergies/sensitivities, but in terms of digestion.

If someone has a leaky gut, chances are he/she is sensitive to tons of stuff - sometimes to nearly everything (as is the case with me).

You can address stuff like this by concentrating on easy-to-digest food, to give the digestive lining a break, and allow it to use its energy to heal.

Leaky guts are usually caused by a yeast overgrowth. So, the program our naturopath put us on was to treat the yeast, and then to address the food allergies/sensitivities with a treatment called NAET.

I feel like I'm really running on here, and may have spit out a whole bunch more than you were interested in, so I apologize. I hope some of it is useful. Let me know if you have any questions.

I went as a kid due to severe allergy symptoms. Got tested, found out all sorts of info, mostly that I was allergic to just about everything, but not allergic to things that many people are (dairy, peanuts, etc.) The tests also revealed how severe my allergies were, one of which is soy products, which I never knew! Soy is in everything, and it was one of my worst allergies!

I then had allergy shots for 9 years. Those allergy shots helped me a great deal. I would do it all over again, even though it took a lot of time. Shots daily, then every other day, then twice weekly etc. It took a lot of commitment of my time. Good news is, the shtos are teeny weeny and dont' hurt.

Prior to my allergy treatments it was like I was infected with a constant cold and I battled severe stomach aches from food allergies. I was also sick constantly because my immune system was so low. While I still have allergies, the severity is far far less, I can eat more foods, and my nose doesn't drip like a faucet. As a result, my immune system works better, and I catch far less virsues.

Even if you choose not to go through allergy shots, testing can be good because you can pin-point just what your child is allergic to and how much or how little. Good luck!

I would say go to the allergist for the testing. My oldest DS was debilitated (sp?) with migraines at 11. NOTHING helped 4MRI 1 CAT scan EVERY migraine medication known to man ... pediatric neruologist .... every thing...We switched peds for ds #3 and asked him about DS #1 he asked if we had tested him for allergies... refered us to a great allergist and the kid is allergic to everything they tested him for except cats. He has been taking the allergy shots and has been migraine free for 20 months. You dont have to agree with treatment but you would have a handle on which direction you wanted to go. I lucked out with our allergist he is even in agreement with my cloth diapering on my youngest. If it turns out it is more than gluten you could also turn to a nutritionist for some more "natural" avenues.
Jeana