jenn- Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Myself and all 4 kids to varying degrees have what doctors always refer to as allergy shiners. Other than a light contact dermatitis every once and a while and spring allergy symptoms, we don't really have any other signs of ongoing allergies but the shiners never go away. I mentioned allergy testing one of my kids years ago and our doc at the time brushed me off with a comment about having dogs and cats and whether we would be willing to get rid of them if the test came back positive. Just recently though my youngest reacted with an itchy mouth to a kiwi and now I am wondering if he and I (my shiners are the worst) should go for a round of allergy testing. What would you do in this situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The shiners would not elicit a round of testing without other significant symptoms, for me. The itchy mouth reaction though - that's another story. I'd definitely consider testing for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My oldest has allergic shiners but did not test positive for anything on an allergy test. People have suggested she may have a dairy intolerance even if she doesn't have an allergy. She also did not test as having lactose intolerance and has no symptoms. My 11 yo tested allergic to milk and wheat and never had shiners. ETA: I have been showing shiners in the last year or so. I only tested positive for dust mites but the doctor wanted to do more testing for indoor allergies, but I never went back. The testing was before I had shiners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I think doctors tend to assume all dark under eye circles are "allergy shiners", even when there may well be other contributing factors. For example, my dd, who doesn't have any known allergies and who usually does not have the shiners, got a bad cold. She had not been sleeping well for a couple of weeks, due to the coughing and congestion. The PA at our doctor's office grandly announced that she had allergies ("Just look at those allergy shiners!)He refused to consider that the dark circles came from 2 solid weeks of poor sleep. Needless to say, I threw his Rx for allergy meds away, filled the one for a strong antihistamine, and as soon as dd's congestion cleared up, the circles disappeared and she was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I have always had allergy shiners. I have never really been able to get rid of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I have always had allergy shiners. I have never really been able to get rid of them. Okay, I'm not pulling up the right quote for some reason. Regarding your post: Lactose intolerance is not the same as an allergy. Lactose is the sugars in milk. When they test for a dairy allergy they are testing for a protein allergy. One can have issues with lactose and that would not show up on an allergy test. We actually had separate allergy testing with an allergist and lactose intolerance testing at a children's hospital, ordered by a GI in trying to figure out dd's problems before deciding to do the endoscopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 I do have a lactose intolerance. It is enough that I cannot drink a glass of milk, but I can eat cheese and ice cream (a reasonable serving size) without the digestive issues. All my kids consume milk regularly without any outwardly obvious symptoms, except maybe the shiners. So is there a test for lactose intolerance or is it just a test milk protein allergy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I do have a lactose intolerance. It is enough that I cannot drink a glass of milk, but I can eat cheese and ice cream (a reasonable serving size) without the digestive issues. All my kids consume milk regularly without any outwardly obvious symptoms, except maybe the shiners. So is there a test for lactose intolerance or is it just a test milk protein allergy? Our test required my dd to drink a lactose drink and breath into a device every half hour for two hours, I think, and record any symptoms over the next 12 hours or so. We went to a children's hospital as I said, but my friends daughter had the test with a local pediatric GI and got to eat ice cream before breathing into the machine. I don't think allergists do this kind of testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I think doctors tend to assume all dark under eye circles are "allergy shiners", even when there may well be other contributing factors. For example, my dd, who doesn't have any known allergies and who usually does not have the shiners, got a bad cold. She had not been sleeping well for a couple of weeks, due to the coughing and congestion. The PA at our doctor's office grandly announced that she had allergies ("Just look at those allergy shiners!)He refused to consider that the dark circles came from 2 solid weeks of poor sleep. Needless to say, I threw his Rx for allergy meds away, filled the one for a strong antihistamine, and as soon as dd's congestion cleared up, the circles disappeared and she was fine. Interesting. A NP saw my shiners AND the back of my throat and recommended claritin. I believed I didn't have allergies based on the testing I had two years before, but I took the claritin to try it. I had been having all over pain and the claritin made an unexpected difference with that. It was weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I do have a lactose intolerance. It is enough that I cannot drink a glass of milk, but I can eat cheese and ice cream (a reasonable serving size) without the digestive issues. All my kids consume milk regularly without any outwardly obvious symptoms, except maybe the shiners. So is there a test for lactose intolerance or is it just a test milk protein allergy? Well, you know, if y'all are allergic to any part of dairy, the cure is to eliminate dairy. Y'all could just do that for a couple of months and see what happens and save yourself a trip to the allergist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Unless it was something that was clearly a problem, I don't think it's worth the cost of a trip to the allergist, yet. Two of my daughters have allergy shiners off and on. For one of them, it's more of a minor seasonal-allergy thing. For the other, it comes on pretty quickly when her respiratory system is struggling. For her, we do meet with an allergist/asthma doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 just a side note, you can get allergies shiners from sensitivities as well. sensitivities do not show up in the standard skin prick test as there is no histamine reaction. People can get allergy shiners from things like laundry detergent, and scented body products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 A few of my dc have always had shiners but no other symptoms. Doc said it isn't a problem. I haven't worried about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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