Confused by IGE level results

rubber_chicken · August 2013

Hello,
I received my daughter's allergen blood test results today (electronically - I'm waiting for the office to call me back to discuss) and I'm really confused by the results.

It says that a normal level is under 0.35, but what is considered high? Is it anything over 0.35? She has a bad reaction to soy, but her level was only 1.18.

Also, she tested positive for foods that I've seen her eat without a problem. For example, she's eaten mustard seeds in an Indian dish without a problem, but she tested for positive for mustard at 11.80, which is 10x what she tested for soy! And then, I've seen her have a reaction to prunes, but she tested negative for plums.

Obviously I need to talk to the doctor about this, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these blood test results. Are these false positives? Are these numbers all low - I've seen web postings talking about levels of 4000, so I'm really confused.

magdusia · August 2013

I go by this chart. But when it comes to children, their immune system changes rapidly so never assume her levels are low so she must be ok. My son has had a terrible reaction to something that was in the "low" levels and a mild reaction to something that was in the "high" levels.

All last year he was showing signs of outgrowing EVERYTHING than this month he proved it wrong. Young children's immune system goes up and down so you just never know where they are at. These tests are great but i would personally just avoid anything they are allergic to. Doctors say the numbers should stabilize when they are around 5.

Also, she can have false positives. Another thing a doctor (and a book) told me was that you and i can have allergies but our bodies know how to fight them off. for example, we can eat eggs every single day and be fine, but if we were tested, we could be positive for an allergy to eggs. It all depends how our body fights it..

IgE	kU/L	Level of Allergen
0	<0.35	Absent/Undectable
1	0.35-0.70	Low Level
2	0.71-3.50	Moderate Level
3	3.51-17.5	HighLevel
4	17.6-50	Very High Level
5	51-100	Very High Level
6	>100	Very High Level

rubber_chicken · August 2013

thanks so much! the chart is very helpful.

i spoke with the allergist and he explained that I should think about the numbers as a probability of having a reaction. so we should avoid all foods over .35 since it may provoke a reaction. also, apparently it matters how the allergen is prepared, because the protein can be removed. that's probably why she never had a reaction to foods cooked with sesame oil, but had a strong reaction to hummus.

he also suggested we try to introduce stone fruit since she didnt test positive for any. i hope we can start eating avocado again!!

LSU628 · August 2013

DS tested positive for apples and bananas, but since he has had both with no reaction, the allergist told us to continue giving it to him. She said that you can have an allergic reaction, but if it has been proven you can tolerate it not to remove it from their diets.

sapphiremom13 · August 2013

From what I understand, the numbers don't indicate all that much, the reaction is more indicative. For example, my son's number for milk only falls on the high end of moderate, yet he reacted to almost minuscule amounts in breast milk and gets major hives if only a droplet touches his skin. My allergist said the blood work indicates chances of reactions.

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