[burke-a-bee]

Would you give your child food that showed positive on a blood test as an allergy but not on a scratch test?

 

[kjbrown92]

Eventually, with an emergency plan in place just in case, probably. What kind of reactions has the child had in the past? anaphylactic? eczema? And how high was the reaction on the blood test (RAST)? Are you asking whether you should do a challenge? Which test is more accurate? Or whether you should just feed it to him if the scratch test was negative?

 

[changingseasons]

No. Neither test is 100% accurate, but I would avoid any positives on either test.

Ok, I guess it depends on the circumstances. How old is the child? If old enough to talk and describe to you any symptoms- my tongue feels funny, my stomache hurts, etc. then maybe. How old was the child when the test was done? They are less reliable under 2yo. What's the food? If peanuts, NO WAY. If carrots, possibly- if I felt like it was something that was really important to have in my diet. How long have you been avoiding the food? Have you worked on gut healing before trying to reintroduce?

There are a lot of factors... not just a simple yes or no question.

 

[tanyalynn]

When you say blood test, was it an IgE or IgG? Scratch testing is supposed to indicate IgE reactions, right?

 

[burke-a-bee]

What is the difference between IgE and IgG? Looking at the paperwork all the foods have IGE next to them. He was almost 5 when he had the blood drawn. Soybean, egg whites, wheat and peanut all came back Moderate level. He doesn't have any skin reaction but does complain sometimes of his tummy hurting.

 

[burke-a-bee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by changingseasons No. Neither test is 100% accurate, but I would avoid any positives on either test. Ok, I guess it depends on the circumstances. How old is the child? If old enough to talk and describe to you any symptoms- my tongue feels funny, my stomache hurts, etc. then maybe. How old was the child when the test was done? They are less reliable under 2yo. What's the food? If peanuts, NO WAY. If carrots, possibly- if I felt like it was something that was really important to have in my diet. How long have you been avoiding the food? Have you worked on gut healing before trying to reintroduce? There are a lot of factors... not just a simple yes or no question.

After the blood work we avoided for a few months but reintroduced after the scratch test without gut healing. Can you give me more info on gut healing?

 

[changingseasons]

IgE is an anaphylactic or immediate-reaction allergy, and IgG is a delayed-reaction allergy, also called an intolerance. Gut healing really is more for intolerances I guess... not sure how beneficial it would be for IgE allergies. But I would still avoid the food for 6-12 months to give his immune system a break.

Tummy hurting is a symptom, so it sounds like he is having a reaction. Keep in mind that every reaction can get progressively worse and become dangerous without warning (especially peanuts!!), so if you're introducing IgE foods you need to be very careful. Even if they seem fine on first exposure; reactions can build up over time. I would also have an epipen on hand.

 

[kjbrown92]

Did his tummy hurt when you avoided the foods or only after re-introduction? If it was after re-introduction, then I'd say keep avoiding them, introduce the gut healing, and then possibly after 6 months or more, reintroduce (or get a new blood test). Except for peanuts. With that kind of allergy, I wouldn't mess with it.

 

[burke-a-bee]

So can you ask for a IgG blood test or scratch test? Also what about the muscle test. The blood test was through the ped and scratch test was through an allergist. Since the scratch came back neg the allergist offered no support. She said their is no allergy but he could have intolerance. (I could tell by her tone she wasn't buying it. Just saying it.) She also said there was no connection between behavior and allergy which kind of ticked me off.
Although she did mention his immunoglobolin (sp?) was 163. So slightly high?

 

[kjbrown92]

What kind of reactions is he having?
If it's behavioral, then yes, it is possible that it's intolerances, and no a RAST blood test won't show any of that. His tummy hurting also points more toward intolerances.

 

[burke-a-bee]

Can you test for intolerances?

 

[lil_miss_understood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by burke-a-bee Can you test for intolerances?

There is a test for IgG intolerances, yes. Just like any allergy test, it's not perfect. The golden rule is that if you can eat a food without reacting, you're not allergic. Obviously, if you can't eat a food without reacting, therefor, you are.
One of the blood tests for IgG reactions is called the ELISA.