Allergy testing?

[bookgirl]

Has anyone had allergy testing. Strange question but I do not own even one button up shirt. (don't like them)

Do you wear a tank/tshirt/loose shirt........

Or do they put you in one of those paper gowns?

Just trying to figure out if I need to wear a sports bra or tank top or what.

The receptionist wasn't any help (just a central appointment office).

 

[Fuhnuh]

I assume you are talking about the skin prick test. The blood test is a standard blood draw. DD13 has had the skin prick test 3 times. Each time they used her back as the area for testing. She pulled up her t-shirt or loose cotton shirt for the test, keeping her front covered up. I am sure things vary a bit with the allergist, severity of allergies, and perhaps the age and gender of the patient. DD13 was 11 1/2 when she had her last test and wasn't wearing a bra, so maybe someone else with experience can chime in.

 

[Random Ninja]

When I did the skin test, they had me wear the paper shirt. It didn't matter what shirt/bra I had on because of the paper shirt. The test itself didn't really hurt, felt more like pinches. I'm really ticklish so I was trying not to laugh the whole time. I did end up kind sick to my stomach but that was probably more due to the allergens then the test itself.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Both of my younger kids had the skin pricked tests on their arms. Both also had the blood tests as well. My older dd had hers on her back and said she had a paper gown.

 

[mistysue]

I was going to say it will probably vary by how many spots they do, but they will want to avoid anything rubbing so if you don't have the right shirt I'm sure they will give you a gown. With my son he was just shirt free for a while.

 

[monorailsilver]

My kids allergist does it on the arms so they just roll up their sleeves.

 

[Denine]

My daughter had the skin prick testing on her arms.

 

[spacecanada]

I had mine done on my arms and wore a t-shirt. It's really difficult to tell yourself to not scratch the itchy wheals on your arms during the test... and I would have preferred the back test for this reason, but an itchy back for a few days would be awful too. There are benefits and drawbacks to both locations.

I'm guessing that by your comments, they asked you to wear a button shirt because they test on the back, but you may be able to request a test on the arms instead. If you don't have a button shirt, is it possible to borrow one from someone for the day? (Washed with your own detergent, if that's a trigger for you.)

Also, word of advice, if the allergist doesn't give you some (they should), have plenty of Benadryl cream for after the test. Those wheals continue to itch for a while. I had to take Benadryl liquid and cream for three or four days after the test to make the wheals go away. Oh, and rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer will remove the ink marks on your skin.

Good luck. I hope the test provides meaningful results. The test is only about 50% accurate. Many people have false positives, some have false negatives. Tests alone cannot diagnose allergies. Be sure your allergist also uses a blood test and, most importantly, your reaction history, to determine what your allergies actually are.

 

[bookgirl]

They had no recommendations, the button up shirt was my idea thinking that it would give better access to skin that is not already reacting.

I am assuming they will use my back as my arms and my legs have been covered in raised hives and eczema patches.

They are still kind of welty so I'm not sure they would be able to distinguish.

I've always had seasonal allergies but in the past few years I've had huge multiple skin, respiratory and stomach reactions but because of my age (40's) it's more likely I've grown intolerant than true allergies so I'm not holding out a lot of hope for the skin tests. However my PA thinks it's better to have the test just to make sure.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[hildarumpole]

I had the skin prick test on my back and had to wear a hospital gown with no bra. So lovely. Wear something loose and comfortable, because your back is probably going to be really itchy afterwards. The nurse wiped my back with rubbing alcohol to get the marks off and gave me some Benadryl. As a PP mentioned, it can take several days before the itchiness wears off, so stock up on Benadryl and an anti-itch cream. Good luck.

 

[spacecanada]

You can develop life-threatening food allergies as an adult! Adult-onset food allergies are more common than people think and they are often just as severe as allergies in kids. Many adults dismiss them as intolerances and put themselves at risk for dangerous reactions. I'm happy you are seeing an allergist because respiratory and/or cardiac symptoms indicate a life-threatening allergy and you'll need to carry an EpiPen or Auvi-Q/Allerject (preferably two) always, should those symptoms ever happen again. (Do you have these yet? If not, you'll want to get them right away!)

You may want to cut out all processed foods (due to cross contact with other ingredients during processing) and keep a very simple diet and food/symptom journal for a while so you can try to pinpoint (and eliminate) foods that may be triggering these reactions. Having a recorded history of food consumed and symptoms will also help your allergist interpret the test results.

Check out these sites or PM for more information on allergies:
www.allergicliving.com
www.anaphylaxis.ca
www.foodallergy.org
http://the-clarkes.org/stuff/ana.html

 

[PinkBudgie]

You can develop life-threatening food allergies as an adult! Adult-onset food allergies are more common than people think and they are often just as severe as allergies in kids. Many adults dismiss them as intolerances and put themselves at risk for dangerous reactions. I'm happy you are seeing an allergist because respiratory and/or cardiac symptoms indicate a life-threatening allergy and you'll need to carry an EpiPen or Auvi-Q/Allerject (preferably two) always, should those symptoms ever happen again. (Do you have these yet? If not, you'll want to get them right away!)

You may want to cut out all processed foods (due to cross contact with other ingredients during processing) and keep a very simple diet and food/symptom journal for a while so you can try to pinpoint (and eliminate) foods that may be triggering these reactions. Having a recorded history of food consumed and symptoms will also help your allergist interpret the test results.

Check out these sites or PM for more information on allergies:
www.allergicliving.com
www.anaphylaxis.ca
www.foodallergy.org
http://the-clarkes.org/stuff/ana.html

This is true! I suddenly got a severe fish allergy out of the blue last summer. I had even eaten fish about two months earlier just fine. I didn't have a scratch test, they did blood tests. BTW- the blood test said I was not allergic to fish at all. I knew that couldn't be right so went in for a food challenge to confirm. I don't know if scratch tests are more accurate or not.

 

[spacecanada]

I am also negative on both the skin prick and blood tests but highly allergic to nuts and peanuts. I haven't done an oral food challenge because my reaction history has many frightening severe reactions to extremely small doses, PTSD (from severe reactions), and food anxiety.

Reaction history is the most important diagnostic tool, as are food challenges, with the other tests helping to clear muddy water in cases like the OP where they don't know what is causing the reactions - they give you a place to start.

bookgirl - when is your allergy test?

 

[mistysue]

Reaction history is the most important diagnostic tool, as are food challenges, with the other tests helping to clear muddy water in cases like the OP where they don't know what is causing the reactions - they give you a place to start.

This is what we used my son's tests for- they just narrowed down a list of things to look at. It is very frustrating how unreliable testing can be especially given that many in the medical profession still don't understand that allergy testing is not completely accurate. I had a nurse recently try to tell me that my son's numbers were low enough they weren't going to consider his allergens during a pre-surgery interview. (we got it straightened out) But there have been a few times where it has been greatly to our benefit to just state the allergy and not give testing results because his reactions and his test scores do not match up.

 

[bookgirl]

I am also negative on both the skin prick and blood tests but highly allergic to nuts and peanuts. I haven't done an oral food challenge because my reaction history has many frightening severe reactions to extremely small doses, PTSD (from severe reactions), and food anxiety.

Reaction history is the most important diagnostic tool, as are food challenges, with the other tests helping to clear muddy water in cases like the OP where they don't know what is causing the reactions - they give you a place to start.

bookgirl - when is your allergy test?

Thursday. Can't come soon enough. My PA said to quit taking my once a day Claritin because I needed to be antihistamine free for at least 2 weeks. It's been 2 and a half I'm itching to death.

Of course the stuff from the allergy clinic came and said don't take any for three days before test.

 

[lillykat]

Thursday. Can't come soon enough. My PA said to quit taking my once a day Claritin because I needed to be antihistamine free for at least 2 weeks. It's been 2 and a half I'm itching to death. Of course the stuff from the allergy clinic came and said don't take any for three days before test.

Our allergist say no meds for 2 weeks before. They also won't do prick testing if you have had hives within 30 days because it causes more sensitive skin and therefore can give some false positive or inaccurate results. We had to do blood work then wait a while to do prick testing when my daughter kept breaking out in hives.

 

[MSSANDRA]

They used to say no antihistamines for 3 days,then a week and now most say 2 weeks if you are doing the skin test but some will say less for the blood test.

It is always a difficult time at our house.
Our doctor will use a combination of skin and blood test, food challenges and history to confirm but its better to ere on the side of caution if an allergy can not be ruled out. My sister developed an allergy to over 30 different foods in the last year. It has been a nightmare and they are still finding un-diagnosed allergies. She is 46. They are pretty sure something happened to her anti-immune response system but three or four specialist later she is still reacting to more and more new things. Things she has eaten her entire life!!! Her research is showing more and more adult allergies and suggest a connection to all the processed food we now consume. Thing is she is a 60's hippy want to be and eats better and more whole/simple foods that 90% of Americans and is reacting to a ton of healthy stuff like pineapple and sweet potato.
Good luck on your test. Our doctors use backs for kids so they can scratch but mostly arms for adults but it sounds like it will need to be your back. I would wear a largish soft cotton shirt and they will supply a gown if needed. Take your iphone or pad as you will have some wait time and a distraction will help.

 

[spacecanada]

bookgirl - How are you feeling? How did the allergist appointment go? I know it can be a trying time and wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and here for support if you need it.

 

[bookgirl]

Just an update.

Testing was fine, they used my back. They also did a head CT and lung xrays, and lung functions.

I was only tested on environmental allergens at this appointment. Initial testing was borderline so they did extra exposures via injection. I tested positive for all the usual suspects, pollen, dust, mold.

Since my lung function is pretty good and the xrays showed minimal damage and the CT only showed one problem area they are going to try new medicine instead of shots for now.

I will go back for food testing after my WDW trip. Most of the skin reactions are healed and I've had very few new breakouts, so they wanted to do the other first.

 

[spacecanada]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear things are moving forward and you're starting to get some answers. Best of luck and have fun at WDW!