Georgia Babies

allergy testing

who has had allergy testing on their children and what was it like? 

John has had two severe reactions that have sent him to the ER.  The first time they pinned it on a new antibiotic he started that day.  We took him after to an allergist after and she recommended staying away from the antibiotic but no further testing.  The second time, well we have no idea what caused the reaction.  I questioned the ER dr about allergy testing and recomended not doing it because he is very young, testing was painful, he could grow out of his allergies & the treatment would be the same in for known and unknown allergies  (benedryl first, if that doesnt help then 911 or ER for further treatment. we also carry a epipen). The way the test was described to me was that he would be pricked numerous times with allergens to see his reaction.  sounds horrible for a four year old.  BUT I've been told that they can also just draw blood...one prick would be preferable.

I am just curious about what others have experienced and what to expect if we do more testing.   I am going to see the pediatrician tommorow to talk about this some more.  THANKS!

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Re: allergy testing

  • I did Nkosi's testing at Atlanta Allergy and Asthma on Windy Hill. They gave him numerous shots in his back. It was awful to watch and I had to restrain him. He was 5 at the time. We found out he was allergic to mostly everything out there. Doctor said he should be in a bubble. He was calm though don't mistake me. I was holding him down as requested. He cried but no screaming. I think he did better then me watching him.

    Anyway, very glad we got it done. We have also recently found out he is allergic to shrimp and he has an epipen too.

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  • We just had Caroline's done and honestly she did better than I expected. I took her to the same practice Karin mentioned above, but in Woodstock. They laid her on her stomach, that was the worst part, getting her down on her belly. Then the needle pricks were on a board type thing that allowed 5-6 of the pricks into her back at once. Then they have to stay on their bellies for 15-20 minutes. I was dreading it because I s have skin testing many times myself and it's definitely uncomfortable, but despite a few tears at the beginning, she did great!
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  • I haven't had to do allergy testing with Owen, but I have had it done 3 times for myself. The first was the usual, as described above. I was an adult and thought it was torture. Painful and horrible to have to sit there and wait for the reaction. I just had testing re done and it was the blood test. Supposedly just as reliable,accurate and much easier. It was quite a few tubes of blood though.

    I'm sorry he is having these reactions and I hope he grows out of it. 

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  • Kerwin had it done once when he was 13 months and again just about a month ago. The first time they took blood and this time they did the sticks and he was fine. We went to Atlanta Asthma Allergy as well the actual pricks weren't bad because they had this tool that did like 10 at one time. I personally wasn't concerned about the pain it may cause because I just wanted answers. Kerwin is allergic to just about everything in the environment as well as eggs, dairy, nuts, wheat and he's also allergic to Zithromax/Biaxin. Good Luck

  • We've done allergy testing twice. We did food allergy testing via skin prick first. We found out he was allergic to soy. In that scenario, they took two trays of needles, placed each tray on his back and pressed the trays in so that each would prick him. They do it pretty quickly even though it was a bunch of sticks at once. He then had to lie still on his belly with us holding him down for a total of about 30 minutes (15 minutes for reaction to appear, 15 more minutes for nurses to record and doctor to verify reactions). He peed all over himself during the sticks so you might want to have a plan for if that happens (although ds wasn't even 3 at the time). We took our iPad and he watched a movie on it while he waited so the wait wasn't that bad

    We later did allergy testing for penicillin which was the worst thing I've ever put my child through and I would never voluntarily do again. It took over three hours and at least 21 separate injections (individual needles) and me having to hold him immobilized the entire time.

    My understanding is that the blood draw testing isn't very accurate and most allergist don't put much stock on them (that was my impression from our allergist, I've done no research on this myself). Our allergist did tell me that ds might outgrow his food allergy (apparently some of them it's common to outgrow) so we will retest him for soy again next year.
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  • we did see his pediatrician this morning. He has had two anaphylactic reactions in 6 months and she felt that testing was necessary. We did the blood test this morning and we are going to follow up with the scratch test.  I hate doing it to him but I can't not know more either.  THANKS for your feedback!  I feel like I have a great idea what to expect during testinig

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  • We just did this last week with 3 1/2 year old and 18 month old at the Canton office of Atlanta Allergy and Asthma. Pricks were on back with several at one time, about 6 pricks on 4-5 areas. Then not touch the back for 15 minutes. The oldest kid just laid on his stomach after the pricks he didn't cry, just wince. The youngest voluntarily layed on her tummy and wasn't really upset by the pricks but by me and 2 nurses holding her down. They let her get up after the pricks and walk around. We just had to make sure she didn't touch her back to anything - no clothes, not up against a wall, etc. They did really well, much better than I thought. It really wasn't bad at all. 
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