My 15 month old son has allergies. Nothing severe. He has had some eczema in the past but that has been under control for months now. We use vanicream once per day and that is it. Really nothing to speak of. He lay on the cats once and turned red and itchy so I am assuming he may have a cat allergy but of course nothing notable since and he is around the cats all the time. He had the RAST blood test done at 1 year and he tested a 1 for wheat and milk and a 2 for eggs and peanuts. He drinks goats milk and has recently been introduced to cows milk protein (yogurt and cheese) with no reaction. Same with eggs and wheat. He accidentally found a pice of peanut butter toast at a family members house and again no reaction. Today at my son's 15 month well check she suggested we see an allergist for skin testing to get a definitive answer. I just don't think this is necessary. He is having no real symptoms or reactions. He is in the 25% for weight and 75% for height and meeting his milestones. I also think I heard that skin testing isn't definitive until 3 years of age. Does anyone have any experience with this, suggestions or advice. Like I said I have recently relaxed his diet restrictions with no changes in this bowels, skin, sleep etc. I am a Registered Dietitian so I obviously have a lot of experience with food, ingredients etc.
Thanks!
If you still need to use the vanicream, then it would appear that he is still having some reaction (skin-wise) whether it's food, chemical or environmental.
Just remember that it generally takes 2-3 exposures or more before the body really develops an allergy. So keep introducing things very slowly, and watch him closely for many times (especially with peanuts and eggs!) because it could go from nothing to rather severe in one exposure. But after multiple times, it's probably safe to rule it out.
Kids have a tendency to be mildly allergic to something at a young age and potentially outgrow it; part of the key for this is not introducing things too young. I'd wait till he's 2 to really introduce nuts & peanuts, for example.
We've had random breathing and rash issues with both my sons. Our Pediatrician will only do the blood work until age 3. After that if there is significant signs of allergies they'll go ahead and send us to an allergist who then can or cannot recommend a skin test. Maybe ask for a referral to an allergist to see if they really think its necessary. Or you can just tell them you'd rather wait until he's older and just treat the symptoms at this point. It's really all up to you in the end, even though I know how easy it is to just go with what they tell you! Good luck :)
Trust your motherly instincts (and dietician knowledge) you know your child best!
My DS had lots of trouble with eczema when he was an infant, and we were told that any allergy testing before age 3 is not accurate. He just had a skin test done and is allergy free! I would just keep plugging along until his 3rd birthday. Since his allergies are not severe, the Dr.'s probably won't give him anything more than recommending Benadryl, Claritin, or Zyrtec. I know it stinks! Best of luck!
My son is having the test in August, they wouldn't even give us a refferal for him to Childrens until he was 3.
Oh brother! I agree with you. If he has no symptoms or reactions, then what is the point of these allergy tests?
Allergy tests can be horribly inaccurate. I know, because I've been through all of that. I tested positive for things that never gave me problems, and I tested negative for things that I know I'm allergic to. The tests are pretty expensive too.
Save yourself and your son the aggravation and skip the tests for now. I'm glad to hear that your son has outgrown his allergies.
My doctor suggested we wait until 2 and we already know my daughter is highly allergic to peanuts. He said it wasn't as accurate before that and the only reason to test at 2 was because of her known allergy to peanuts.
It is worth it to get additional testing done. It's better to know ahead of time what things he might react to.
Also, with his eczema and allergies, and if you or other immediate family members have allergies, he has a 97% chance of developing asthma, and you will want an allergist involved. Our son has/had eczema, allergies & DH & I both have allergies, so we found out that our son has that 97% chance (has been shown in studies to be true; the pediatric allergist was not just "pulling a number out of the air.")
Our son was diagnosed with peanut allergy at 18m, and because of that, and his seasonal allergies & congestion, we wanted to get him tested. I am very glad we did, though I didn't enjoy it at all.
The testing goes really fast, in terms of the skin pricks themselves, so it's over pretty fast.
My son has alot of allergies as well. The doctor cant test him for them until he is 4 though, and he is only two. They gave him a perscription for his allergies and it seems to be helping. He is allergic to cherry, and was allergic to ranch dressing for a while too, but now its just cherry. It seems like we are always running into things that he can't have. I can tell you one thing it makes it hard to have a babysitter with all those allergies. My husband and I have to watch so closely what he eats, because everything has cherry in it. All the gummy packs and everything have to be gone through before he is given them. Good luck :D I wish my son was 4 already for that test! I cant imagine having a fifteen month old and waiting that long.
Our Doctor was able to do a blood test too and it worked great for us. no moe eggs no more problmes. Im so sorry things have been hard. for you.
wishing you and happyness and allergy free.
RAST tests can give false negatives and skin prick tests can give false positives. So sometimes it makes sense to run them both to get a better idea of what you're really allergic to. My allergist gives skin pricks at age three.. I don't think there's really a cutoff age...
Please Please Please have the skin testing done. It is a lot more accurate than the blood test. My son has had 3 skin tests done and he is only 4. He was 2 and a half when he had the first one. He is such a trooper. He doesn't enjoy it but he is really good and sits through it. He is anaphayasis to cats and peanuts. He is also allergic to all animals, all fish, all tree nuts, Strawberries, Amoxocillin, Guaifinesin, and Albuterol. He is also sensative to all food dye so he doesn't eat anything with Red, Yellow or Blue in it.
DR Rose in the Phoenix area is great! We love him.
My son also has eczema and is extremely suceptible to rashes. He is 4 and we still have to use Dreft. We tried All Free and Clear but he still broke out in a rash.
Skin testing on a 15 month old, ohhhhh I hope the child isn't awake when this is done. I have had this done (as an adult) more times then I care to remember, and it's aweful.
If he isn't having reactions to things he eats or things around the house, then if it were me I would wait longer to get the skin testing done.
