Allergy Testing

Ellie had her first appointment with the pediatric allergist today, and everything went as smoothly as could have been expected. Below is Scott's description of what we learned about Ellie's allergies:

Unless a person has already been exposed to something, that thing cannot be tested to see if it’s an allergen since there will not be a histamine reaction (since it’s the first contact with the substance). This is not generally an issue with older children and adults, as they’ve been exposed to most everything. There’s also a much greater chance of a false positive when testing infants because their sensitive skin is more susceptible to skin reactions. Ellie was tested for all the things she’s reacted to so far to see whether they were genuine allergic reactions or skin reactions.

Ellie has a severe egg allergy; everything else she’s reacted to (tomato, white potato, olive oil, strawberry, and kiwi) is just a skin reaction. A skin reaction is not a systemic reaction and is not caused by histamines. They are not dangerous but can be very annoying. The problem is when the reaction itches, she tends to grind in or smear around the irritant, making it worse. In any case, this is better than vomiting or losing the ability to breathe, neither of which happens with skin reactions.

Infants with severe allergies generally only have an allergy to one major group. Eggs are their own group. People with a severe allergy to one group are more likely to develop a severe allergy to another group when exposed. That being the case, Ellie is to avoid three of the major groups (peanuts, nuts, and shellfish) until she is five years old.

Her egg allergy, as mentioned before is severe. Her skin test for eggs was a “4+,” which is as high as the scale goes. Ellie eating eggs can cause all the worst allergy associated reactions: full body hives, vomiting, airway swelling, etc. Good times. We were fortunate with our last egg experience that she didn’t actually consume any of them. Obviously, eggs in any form and amount are to be avoided completely. We have to strictly adhere to this until she is tested again at the allergist one year from now.

The good news is that 4 out of 5 babies grow out of there allergies in the first year or two. All we have to do is not give Ellie eggs, peanuts, nuts, or shellfish. Aside from that, wipe her face and hands off if she starts having a skin reaction to anything else. If the reaction is bothering her, she should have her antihistamine.