Need help understanding allergy skin test results

[BusyMom2Three]

We leave for Disney in a few days, and the allergist just mailed my DD's skin test results. The allergist isn't the best communicator (in fact, I think I am going to switch to a diff one b/c we had several diff probs w/ him including prescribing meds I said we didn't need b/c we already had RXs from the ped, not giving me the results, etc), so I am planning to call my pediatrician to discuss the results and request a new referral for DD's actual treatment, but she is out of the office this week. In the meantime, I thought someone here may be able to help me understand.

He highlighted DD's allergies, two of them being cats and dogs, but next to those two it says 0/10 (next to the things she's not allergic to, it only has a 0). Also, she had huge red blotches around several outdoor allergens (trees, pollens), and although she had patches as big as prob 3" across, it says 5/30 and 5/20 next to the worst ones, which seems like a low rating (as in 5 out of a possible 30).

ETA: I did find one Google entry in which someone said the 1st # is the size of the wheal and the 2nd the diameter of the redness, and this does seem to make sense given the way DD's back looked, but nothing that helps interpret the severity. If anyone has had to read these results and knows, I'd love not having to wait a few days until the dr returns to find out, esp w/ our trip approaching and how often we'll be outside (during Flower & Garden Festioval no less)! Not that we can prevent that, and DD is on meds (although she's not well controlled yet).

Thanks!

 

[mistysue]

There really isn't much anyone can give you to interpret the severity. It sounds like you've already figured out that a bigger number means she responded more. One of the issues that comes up with allergy testing is that the only way you know how bad a reaction is- is to see the reaction. By seeing the reaction her skin has, you now know exactly that, how her skin reaction is.
A more severe reaction can suggest that other reactions (runny nose, upset tummy, even anaphylaxis) would be more likely to be more severe, but it does not equal a worse reaction. Does that make sense?

My son has a lot of allergies. If you test his blood, wheat doesn't even show up. If you prick his skin, he barely gets pink. If you feed it to him, he has a delayed eczema that lasts for days. Milk shows up in his blood test, not on his skin prick but it makes him sick and covered in hives immediately.
Right now our house was dry so I turned on the humidifier for my daughter and his entire body broke out from mold... but his skin and blood test numbers are low enough to suggest it shouldn't bother him.

The testing is helpful for hints and bits of information, but it is not very conclusive. Just be sure you pack her meds and take a nice lotion. Would something like a mask help if it's a bad allergy day for her?