11 month old and the allergist

[soontobe]

okay I have to make an appt for ds to go to the allergist-yikes!!! I gave him a bit of egg the other day (which apparently I wasn't supposed to do) and he had a small reaction. The ped wants me to take him to the allergist so we will know if he can have the flu shot etc.

so what do i expect there? how does it work? do they tell me right then if he has an allergy/ how do they do a scratch test on an 11 month old?

i'm kind of nervous any info would be appreciated!!!!

[soontobe]

anyone?....

[bubbaray]

My DD#2 had her first skin/scratch test at ~3m old, so yeah, they definitely can do skin tests at that age. She had another skin test at 12m, and also a RAST test then (which is a blood draw). It depends on the allergist, some don't put much stock in tests under 2yo. DD#2 had a full-on severe anaphylaxis at 11.75m, though, so we didn't really have a choice.

GL!

[Clarity]

I took my 12month old to the allergist last month after an allergic reaction. I removed her shirt and they marked her back with a marker. Then they took small needles(?) and touched her back in quick succession 8 times. My dd didn't even blink it went so fast and was so unobtrusive. Then we waited 10 minutes for the nurse to return and note where there was a reaction. My dd had three - dairy, egg and peanut.
They told me immediately and then the doctor came in to talk to me. After which they sent her for a RAST test at the lab.
My practice was wonderful, they pointed me to my local support group, gave me online resources, provided additional information and followed up with me regularly until the RAST tests were back in and we met with them again. We'll see them again in a year for another round of tests to see if she still has these allergies.

[KpbS]

It depends on which type of allergy testing they are planning for your DC. If RAST testing there will be a blood draw involved which can be a difficult process but isn't necessarily. If the testing is a scratch test, the "scratches" can be from individual pricks or a panel of needles. Either way it is not too bad IME. DS1 has had this testing done several times--starting at 9 mo. Bring something to distract your DC, some new small toys, bubbles, etc. these will help the testing go faster and minimize your wait time for the test results.

It is good to know which type of testing they will do--if RAST testing, it really helps to have DC very well hydrated.

Good luck

[ett]

DS2 has an egg allergy. The skin and blood test post came out negative when he was 6 months old. We went back again when he was 15 months and egg came out positive on the skin test. They do the skin test on the baby's back. You just need to make sure they don't reach back to scatch it since it may get itchy. DS2 has had the skin test 4 times and he's been okay with it each time.

Depending on how booked the allergist is, you may not be able to get an appointment immediately. So just be prepared for that in case they tell you it will be a couple months.

[ett]

Another thing is that in order to do skin test, you have to be off benadryl for at least 3 days. (longer for claritin/zyrtec but your 11 month old would not be on those anyway.)

[MontrealMum]

We had DS in for a scratch test at around 11 mos as well. Would have been slightly earlier, but it was difficult to get an appointment for a variety of reasons (basically, DS' old ped did not take our concerns seriously). Luckily we were given an emergency appt. as certain allergies merit those at the Children's. In our case it was grains (oatmeal), but I expect there are others on the list. The scratch test was done on his arm, not his back. I'd expect they use the back if they are testing for more than one thing at a time and need more room? It consisted of 3 drops and subsequent scratches. The allergen, a control, and a placebo (I think, I'm a bit foggy on this; or is the placebo the control and there are two allergens?). They only do testing here if the child has already had a reaction; they don't do preventitive/preemptive testing. I had to sort of hold him still, but he didn't really expect anything at first so he only wriggled after the 1st scratch.