Skin allergy testing? Allergic to everything???

[LNC]

My 10yod had skin allergy testing today to look into her severe springtime allergies. She had a 4+ reaction to almost everything on the test! Except a 3 to 2 weeds. Even a 4 to the control. Which he said was odd, and made it seem like her skin was just reacting in general. They had to stop the test to give Benadryl and give hydrortisone all over her back. You would not believe what it looked like!

 

He said not to assume she was allergic to all that, especially the foods. Bc she had such a huge overreaction, the test was useful to determine she does have allergies but it wasn't so useful to determine to what exactly. She has several prescriptions and we will start shots with a general solution in a couple weeks. She also has cold uticaria and he gave her an epi pen for that. Has anyone had this happen to them or their kids?

Edited March 25, 2010 by LNC

[The Girls' Mom]

That happened to my dd. It was pretty much useless to narrow down WHAT she was allergic to. She has very sensitive skin also.

[Snickerdoodle]

I wonder if it's leaky gut syndrome?

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Was she tested for food allergies as well? Where they 4 plus as well? I am curious since my ds has severe food allergies, but was only tested for food allergies. He was 4+++ for peanuts and tree nuts:( I asked the doctor if his results could be false positives and he said that is not possible at 4 +++. My ds did have a 1 and a 2 for milk and corn, but he is not considered allergic for those.

[LNC]

There was food on there too, but not all the foods they test with skin. Everything was positive except for 2 weeds. Even the control...

[Lolly]

My dd was almost that bad. Environmentally, she was not badly allergic to dust mites, dogs, some molds, and a few other things. Food wise, she was 4+++ to almost everything. The only things she reacted mildly to were cinnamon, broccoli, mushrooms, and coffee. I doubted the accuracy of the tests, but real life trials are showing them to be correct.:glare:

[Sandra in FL]

the doctor called in the other docs to show them the results. It was that bad. He was 9 months old at that time. I tried to put him on formula but he's allergic to milk and soy. So I went on an elimination diet (since I was breast feeding him). At first I ate only beef, root vegetables, Chinese greens, canola oil and calcium supplements. Slowly, I expanded the diet and he outgrew the rice allergy. This was big for me (I'm Chinese).

 

I practically stayed home for 11 months since I couldn't stand to see all the delicious food out there. When he was 20 months old, I got pneumonia and had to go on 4 different anti-biotics. I stopped nursing and put him on OJ w/calcium.

 

Since he was a baby, he's never tasted any of the yummy stuff. It'll be hard on your dd to avoid her allergens. I personally prefer food allergies over environmental. One can eat only home-cooked food, but it's hard to control the environment. The allergist did say that at age 7, kids usually slowly lose the food allergies and gain environmental ones. My ds has not lost any food, but has become much more sensitive to smoke, odors, etc.

 

Blessings,

Sandra

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

. Has anyone had this happen to them or their kids?

 

Yup. This was me when I was a young 20something. I reacted to all 40-something scratches on my back. The doctor interrupted the tests after 5 minutes. I was supposed to wait for 20. He gave me Benadryl, and my back was wiped clean.

 

I am *not* that allergic. I do react (moderately) to some pollens and animals. I did develop an allergy to anchovies, but not all seafood as the doctor predicted. I did stay away from seafood, and usually don't eat it but it's not a danger to me.

 

It's not (necessarily) that bad. It can be, but it can also be all false positives.

[Melinda S in TX]

My dd was highly allergic to 70 out of 78 things she was tested for.

 

Melinda

[Dobela]

Yep, it happened to me as well. My dr finally did my test in a long, long series of just a few at a time. I don't remember how he determined which ones to do though. It turned out I wasn't allergic to as much as we were seeing but that the ones I was terribly allergic to sent my body into overdrive each time they were introduced. We also did some of the foods by diet elimination instead of the scratch test.

[PhunandFonics]

Did they test to see if she was allergic to the glycerin? Not many doctors do, but for someone who has such a severe reaction, it can often be traced back to the glycerin.

[LNC]

He's not doing any more tests, unless I say she has major allergic reaction to a food.

 

Just assuming the basic shots will have the seasonal stuff she's allergic too, and he's adding pets to it.

 

He did say her skin is really overreactive bc she reacted to the control, which you aren't supposed to. And she has cold urticaria - which is the same thing basically.

 

It's nice to hear this has happened to others. This is a huge practice in our city and he said he sees it happen like that once or twice a year - sort of took aback.

[kat19]

After reading this thread, I think I need to ask my son's doctor about testing him. He just turned 2 but for the last month or so any little thing makes him breakout.

He can rub his face on the couch and get a welt looking thing on his face but then within a minute or so it's gone. One day he was playing in a cabinet where he puts some toys and his back was rubbing on the door and after he was done playing it was one big red welt looking rash. It's so weird.

We told doc last time we were in but she said if it doesn't bother him she wasn't gonna do anything about it.

I give him Zrytec almost every night.

[asta]

Yup. This was me when I was a young 20something. I reacted to all 40-something scratches on my back. The doctor interrupted the tests after 5 minutes. I was supposed to wait for 20. He gave me Benadryl, and my back was wiped clean.

 

I am *not* that allergic. I do react (moderately) to some pollens and animals. I did develop an allergy to anchovies, but not all seafood as the doctor predicted. I did stay away from seafood, and usually don't eat it but it's not a danger to me.

 

It's not (necessarily) that bad. It can be, but it can also be all false positives.

 

My house had a severe mold infestation at one point. I tested (alternately) allergic to everything and nothing.

 

Once the house was remediated, I tested positive for what I am allergic to: penicillin (already knew that), another weird mold, and dust mites.

 

Someone who is allergic to everything either lives in a bubble or is dead. Our bodies simply don't work that way.

 

 

a

[KidsHappen]

I very sensitive skin and reacted to most skin tests but on blood test the list was much shorter. Still most of the majors: milk, egg, corn, wheat, some weeds and pollens were 3 without severe reactions. I am highly allergic to iodine and shellfish and have had anaphalctic (forgive sp this late) reactions to these. Surprisingly I am not allergic to nuts of any kind, cats or dogs. Seasonal allergies are pretty bad and I live on Zyrtec and Benedryl.

[Lolly]

My house had a severe mold infestation at one point. I tested (alternately) allergic to everything and nothing.

 

Once the house was remediated, I tested positive for what I am allergic to: penicillin (already knew that), another weird mold, and dust mites.

 

Someone who is allergic to everything either lives in a bubble or is dead. Our bodies simply don't work that way.

 

 

a

 

Or, they are miserable most of the time. Allergies don't have to kill you; they can just make you constantly ill.

 

My dd hardly ever goes outside. When she does, she feels poorly. Inside, we are able to keep a decent handle on things. She stays on antihistamines. She suffers from eczema. She has an extremely limited diet. When we go outside her allowed foods she gets diarrhea, throws up, or has a horrid stomachache. Literally, she isn't allergic to everything. Just almost everything. They don't even test for every single thing in the world.

Edited March 26, 2010 by Lolly

[LNC]

After reading this thread, I think I need to ask my son's doctor about testing him. He just turned 2 but for the last month or so any little thing makes him breakout.

He can rub his face on the couch and get a welt looking thing on his face but then within a minute or so it's gone. One day he was playing in a cabinet where he puts some toys and his back was rubbing on the door and after he was done playing it was one big red welt looking rash. It's so weird.

We told doc last time we were in but she said if it doesn't bother him she wasn't gonna do anything about it.

I give him Zrytec almost every night.

 

That is interesting. He asked me if she broke out in hives when her skin was rubbed or binded in tight elastic. She doesn't, but that is a type of urticaria like her cold urticaria - you might want to google it. It would make your child's test overreact like my daughter's apparently.