LOs that have had allergy testing?

jrlandrigan · February 2011

We found out a month or so ago that DS is allergic to peanuts and we talked to our pedi at his 15 month appt and he referred us to a pediatric allergist. We had the consult. today and made an appointment for him to do allergy testing next week but it sounds IMPOSSIBLE and it stresses me out. She said he has to lay still on his belly for 20 minutes or it won't work.. DS can't be still for 30 seconds, let alone 20 minutes. I'm stressing about it and DH and I talked about maybe trying to wait until he is a little older.. but I think it's best just to do it now because I can't even see him sitting still that long at 2 or so. I just feel really bad and know he will be screaming the whole time and we will have to hold him down. Any words of encouragement?

apriljenkins@newwavecomm.net · February 2011

My son had the allergy testing done at 13 months and our doctor had me hold him to me for the testing and the 20 min after it went so much better than I was expecting. It only takes about 5 min to do the testing and he was more mad that I was holding him down then anything once we stopped holding him to me he was fine. hth Good luck

ZacksBride · February 2011

ds has milk, egg and nut allergies (peanut and tree nut). he broke out in hives from milk - because of that allergy, the pedi did RAST testing on him at 1 year to the common allergens. It just involved a blood draw. He was super positive to the other allergens. our pedi isn't going to send us to an allergist until age 2 because at this point, the only thing to do is avoid triggers, which we do anyway. at 2 he will have the RAST test done again to see if his antibody titers are climbing or going down, to develop a trend. good luck with the skin testing, it wounds rough! hopefully some others have been through that and can offer some advice.

SaranJonathan · February 2011

The actual pricks with the allergen injections on the back took about 5 minutes. Then she was not to lay on her back for 30 minutes. They had a TV, games, etc. It wasn't that bad. We also got a RAST test too and will have to go back every 6 months. They have delt with a lot of little ones before I am sure they have a way to make them be still!

twoasone1 · February 2011

We only had to hold DS still for the actually pricking part of the test. Then he just ran around the room and played like normal until it was time to read them. It wasn't a big deal at all. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Good luck!

swimrbride · February 2011

We had DS tested at 10 months and he didn't have to sit still. Nothing could touch his back but he nursed for a little bit then crawled around and played on the floor.

WannaBAmama · February 2011

I was really stressed about it too but it really wasn't too bad. I sat on the dr's table and had LO on my lap facing me. I held his arms at his side and my husband distracted him with a book while the doctor did all of the pricks. I think the waiting part was only 20 minutes and we just had to keep him from touching his back. It wasn't fun but wasnt terrible!

Bring toys, books, anything that will keep your LO's mind off of their back! good luck!!

magdusia · February 2011

hold still for 20 minutes? ummm.. yeah right! We had our first allergy testing done at 8 months (after a trip to the ER) and within in 3 seconds of the doctor pricking him he was squirming like crazy. After they pricked him the doctor said to sit there for 20 minutes but my son's entire back swelled up within 20 seconds and they had no choice but to dose him with Benadryl spray right away. There is no way i would have been able to hold him for more than a minute b/c it itches them (if they are allergic) but it does depend of how high his allergy levels are. My son's were through the roof. The worst part was that when they pricked him with the allergies, his back completely swelled up right away and b/c he was moving around so much he rubbed his back on my shirt and then his face so his poor face started to swell. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE! We didn't come prepared AT ALL!

Not to scare you but better be prepared. Most likely you will not have the same experience and it won't be so bad (my son is allergic to Milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, sesame and his egg allergy was pretty intense). We're re-testing him again next week and i'm planing on bringing his portable dvd player with sesame street. He will not move an inch with that show on.. so perhaps you do something like that. bring something that's his favorite. I love the video b/c he LOVES elmo and i know that will keep him still for a bit. Don't forget the paci (if he uses one).. but really, the best bet for a still child is a cartoon. (i hope yours loves cartoons as much as mine).

Be glad that you are preparing yourself. I hated my allergist. I can't wait to go to a new one next week.

btw -if you're son is allergic to peanuts and not tree nuts. YOU have to try Almond butter. i buy the freshly ground almond butter from mrs. greens and make every recipe out of it. it is the main source of protein for my son (we suspect a chicken and beef allergy so he doesn't really get any other protein)

good luck!

magdusia · February 2011

i'm reading all the replies and i'm super jealous! I'm glad to hear that most of your experiences weren't as bad as mine. I hated the entire experience. it doesn't help that our stress level was through the roof b/c we just came back from the er where our son almost died from an egg exposure. They never played any movies, it was totally not kid friendly. the experience was truly hell and i pray that the new allergist is better. But i guess i'm the only one w/ such a crappy story! Hope i didn't make you feel worse about going.. i guess i'm totally bitter about the entire experience.. and i'm still bitter about my son having so many allergies. good luck and i'm sure your experience won't be as nearly as bad as mine.

macchiatto · February 2011

Will has had allergy testing done at 10m, 15m and 25m and Alex at 15m. (All skin tests though Will had blood test done at 15m as well.) I can't imagine making them lie on their stomach all that time! I just held them and made sure nothing touched their backs for the 20 min or however long it was. We distracted them with books, songs, My First Leaptops, Buzz Lightyear action figures, and last time, a Dum Dum, which worked wonders.

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