- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
D.C. Area Babies
allergy-testing a 2 y.o.: what to expect?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: allergy-testing a 2 y.o.: what to expect?
are you going to an allergist for skin testing or are they sending you to a lab for bloodwork? I worked for an allergist in HS and college summers and my mom has worked for one in the area for 15 years....
if you do skin testing, they will do it on the chilhds back and you will get results right away, the child will not be happy, just to warn you but the nurses are usually really good about going as fast as they can...
bloodwork you will not get the results immediately...
good luck!!!
I have done both the skin and the blood tests multiple times. Are they testing for general allergies or food allergies? The testing is the same, but the follow up differs for food with skin prick tests.
With the skin prick test, they will do about 40 little drops of liquid in rows (usually on the child's back so that they can't scratch it). Then they take a small needle and prick the skin in each of the drops. One of the drops is a control to see how your child reacts generally and will be very itchy. The other drops are potential allergins. You'll have to wait a period of time to see what reactions, if any, develop. Usually 30 minutes, although they check everything after 10 or 15. Based on the amount/size of swelling, it indicates whether the child has an allergy to that item. If your child has any reactions, they'll apply cream and may even give him/her something like Benadryl. You'll probably have to wait another 30 minutes so that they can observe the child and make sure that she/he isn't having any serious reactions. With a 2 year old - they may not do everything at once. They may break it up into smaller groups. You're supposed to hold still so that the drops don't run into each other. I'm not sure how that will work with a child that small. With food - you get a lot of false positives with skin prick tests and may have to do an avoidance diet to confirm specific allergies.
Given the age of the child, I would guess that maybe they will do blood tests. The blood test is a simple blood draw. Blood goes to a lab and you get results back in a week or so. The blood work looks for IgE antibodies to particular things. Based on the level of anitbodies, it will indicate whether there is an allergy and if so the severity of the allergy.
DD1 9.24.06
DS 7.1.08
twins due 9.7.11 lost twin A at
DD2 4.7.12
Our allergist does skin testing on kids over three (they are better able to handle it) and blood tests on kids under three.
With the skin test you get results right away. We just had another blood draw for DS #3 on Friday (he was first tested at 7 months) and we have to wait two weeks to get the results.
For the skin tests, our allergist sets them up in front of a TV with Diego, Dora, whatever and plies them with lolly pops. I was sooo grateful for the distractions because it is difficult to keep a three year old still for 20 minutes!
We are dealing with food allergies (DS #2 - cashew, pistachio, kiwi and DS #3 - milk, egg and peanut). Life has gotten a lot easier now that we know what we are dealing with.
Good luck!
My twins are 5! My baby is 3!
DS#2 - Allergic to Cashew, Pistachio, Kiwi
DS#3 - Allergic to Milk, Egg, Peanut, Tree Nuts and Sesame
DS1 was tested at age 1 (after a reaction to peanut butter) and again at his 3 yr checkup in October to see if he is still allergic (he is
). Both were blood tests and we got the results back the next day (LabCorp). The worst part was that the time in October they didn't take enough blood at first (did not read the order correctly) and they had to draw more blood. Talk about a meltdown!
Good luck!