I still have no answers from my allergist

browneyedgrl4282

We had the RAST done along with scratch done (only for food so far) and she says they are all negative but told me I still need to keep him off diary, eggs, peanuts, and wheat! She says she doesn't believe the test are right! She is doing the scratch test in a week for air born stuff as well. I just don't know what to do, i honestly believe he has issues with Milk. She wants me to rip the carpet up in my house, only bedrooms and one main area have it, and not let him outside! WTF? how I am supposed to keep him and two siblings locked up inside all day!

Also, she mentioned she wants him on Elacare? Anyone have a child on this? 

 

I am thinking it is time to find a new doctor! Any opinions? 

loveemandle2

So, let me just make sure I have all the facts straight..

He has been scratch tested, and RAST and all were negative? The allergist still said to avoid all of those things you mentioned, not take your kid outside, and take all carpets out?

What are is reactions like? Hives, eczema, other rashes, breathing issues, etc?? It is possible to test negative on a test and still be allergic, but I'm not sure he  would test negative to everything you think he is allergic to, but I have no clue.  How old is the LO with the allergieries?

browneyedgrl4282

He has eczema and he does sometimes get red blotches on his body! Brady is 19 months old. I have never noticed a breathing issues but he does get the watery eyes.

Yes the scratch and rast were negative for food. The rast was done for milk, peanut, corn, wheat, soybean, oat, and egg. The scratch was done for  almond, beef, chicken, cocoa, corn, crab, egg, milk, oat, peanut, rye, shrimp, soybean, strawberry, tomato, wheat, apple, banana, cantalope, celery, coffee, lamb, lemon, lima bean, mushroom, green pea, porl, white potatoe, watermeleon, yeast, fish, lobster, claims, hazelnut, carrots, peaches, onion, string bean, casein, garlic, cinnamon, coconut, mustard, orange, and cherry. 

cotner

It's hard to say if the dr is being overly cautious without knowing the symptoms.  Before the age of 2 it is possible to get false negatives from testing, so LO may be allergic to something that is showing up as not allergic.  As far as going outside, do some research on the daily allergens, and times of day that are the worst in your area.  There are a lot of websites and phone apps for airborne allergies.  Avoid going outside when pollen levels are the highest (usually late afternoon).  Bathe everynight and wash LOs clothes after wearing them once.  This will wash off any pollen they pick up outside. 

It is common for allergists to say to get rid of carpet.  It is horrible breading ground for dust mite poop.  I've done a lot of research on vacuums recently since DD is having airborne allergy issues (we test this Friday).  Meile is the only vacuum that offers a true HEPA filter.  You can slap a HEPA on the side of any vacuum and call it a HEPA filtered vacuum, when really it doesn't filter the dust mite poop (which is the main indoor allergen).  Vacuums claim to filter dust mites, but the mites are not the allergen, the poop is.  You need a true sealed HEPA with a bag.  Bagless just reemits the allergen in the air when you empty it.  I purchase the Titan (works on both hard and carpet surfaces)  It runs around $600 which is a lot, but where I bought it offers free service for the life of the vacuum, we just pay parts.  Also a free cleaning every 2 years when the HEPA is replaced.  They are supposed to last 20+ years.  I was very suprised to find that Dyson is one of the worst vacuums in that price range.  I would have bought one if I hadn't done all the research.

I wouldn't switch doctors yet.  It is confusing until LOs get a little older and testing is more accurate.  Good Luck!

g_belle

have you tried keeping a food diary to track his reactions?  That might show you if the dairy tests are wrong.  We did Ellecare as a calorie booster/supplement for our son when we moved him off of the infant soy formula.  It smells like cupcakes but it tastes awful- although he didn't mind.  It is crazy expensive though.  Does your son not do well with the regular formulas (soy?)?  There are lots of milk alternatives out there as well.  My son gets a combo of condensed coconut milk and enriched rice milk and our nutritionist said it was as close to whole milk as we were going to get if we didn't want to offer soy (we don't do soy milk due to all of the hormones).

 For the indoor allergens- other things our allergist suggested (that are way easier said than done): if you have a dog- wipe his paws/body off with a wipe when he comes insided.  everyone in the family stops wearing shoes indoors to avoid tracking in pollen.  If kiddo is playing oustide- definately a shower before bed to get the pollen off.  Our son never wears play clothes in his bed if he's been outside during bad allergen days.  It puts the pollen right on his pillow. 

We have mostly hardwood floors but all of the area rugs gets vacuumed at least 2x/week and I try to swiffer the floors every night.  It's a lot of cleaning.  has your allergist okayed a daily dose of Claritin/Zyrtec etc?  That helped us a lot too.

stephaniegheller@aol.com

My son is on EleCare, and it has made a huge difference in his allergies (dairy, soy, egg, wheat, peanut) and his eczema. It has been worth it for us, but it is very expensive if your insurance won't pay for it (as is the case with us), for you being in NJ, they should cover it. We didn't care for the limited doctors in our area, and after months with nothing to show, we transfered to the Children's Hospital of Phili, and they have been great. That has made all the difference with us, I would say that if you don't like how your doctor is treating you, I would find someone else.

vmm0016

Our allergist was a huge waste of time, IMO.  She tried to tell me Keira is not allergic to milk but Keira went to the ER the first time she had it and she breaks out in hives when she has anything with milk in it.  Anyway, I would wait until your LO is older to retest or get a new allergist.