Intro - Long time Lurker - Allergy test question
hbrockman01
member
Intro – Mother of 1 DD with formula intolerance. DD was 4mths old when the doctor finally suggested switching her formula to Alimentum and putting her on Zantac. She has been troubled with congestion, extreme fussiness, and projectile spit up since the day she was born and it was explained this is just how she is, (some babies are more congested than others especially c-section babies, all babies spit up (some worse than others) and the fussiness is related to colic). After insisting that there had to be more to it than that they suggested we switch the formula to give her Zantac 2x a day. Terrific! My baby was starting to be a joy rather than a terror (j/k love her regardless).<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Fast Forward 4mths (8mths old now)…
Slowly but surely we are trying new foods. She mastered all of the Gerber Stage 1 and we are moving up to the Stage 2 combos. Everything has been just peachy until recently she broke out in hives and her congestion is back full force. Now the congestion could be a result of the weather changes and a cold but the hives not so much. I took her to the doctor again and now they want to have her tested for food allergies. Totally okay with this as I would rather know now versus later but I just wanted to find out from other mothers who have babies with allergies what happens during the initial visit. I know not all doctors are the same but I wanted to have an idea for what to expect. Personally, I think she should have been tested before now but hey what do I know…
Any help you can provided is greatly appreciated.
Re: Intro - Long time Lurker - Allergy test question
Our first appt wasn't until DS was 18 mo, but I'll share my experience. We talked with the doc for awhile about his history and symptoms. They had us fill out a questionaire before the appt listing foods he had reacted to. We ended up ordering several blood tests because he is dermatographic, which means he would have tested positive on all the scratch tests because just scratching him causes small hives to pop up. I've heard many other mamas say the scratch test is the first one the doc suggests. If you look back through other posts on this board you should see some similar threads that might have more responses. Another thing I've heard is that allergy testing before 1 yo or so can be inconclusive.
I was also thinking, if your LO was intolerant of formula it's likely her allergy is to dairy and/or soy, since that is what most formulas are made from. Did you give her some dairy right before she broke out in hives? Soy is also hidden in a LOT of foods/ingredients, so that's a sneaky one.
GL, I hope you get some answers soon!