Parents -- what would you do?

[KiminChicago]

First let me provide a little background. My husband has sleep apnea and wears a CPAP at night. Our DS 7 sounds almost exactly like my husband at night -- snoring and gasping -- so we've taken him to be evaluated by an ear, nose and throat specialist. On Thursday my DS is having his tonsils and adenoids removed as a first step to try and correct his night time breathing problems.

As part of the surgery, the doctor planned to draw enough blood to do allergy testing. Since my DH and I both have allergies, there's an 80% chance that our son has allergies too. However, the doctor's office called to tell me that the insurance company won't cover the cost of the allergy testing -- they'll only cover the blood test if for some reason my son was unable to have the allergic reaction skin test. The blood testing will cost $1200, but it will be relatively painless for my son -- he'll be unconscious during the surgery and won't even feel the needle. The skin patch test would be more uncomfortable, but the insurance would pay for it. I can pay for the testing out of my medical reimbursement account, so it would all be pre-tax money, so I'm leaning toward getting him tested. My DH feels we could wait until after the surgery and still do the blood test later if we felt it was needed, but I'd like to spare our son as much pain as possible. What would you do?

 

[Rajah]

If you can afford the blood test method and don't have a problem spending that much on something insurance would cover with another method, then I'd go ahead and do the blood testing.

 

[Poohnatic]

I'd probably do the blood test. However, my older son had the skin patch test done when he was three (three courses, 60 total allergens). They did them on his back and yes, he was itchy, but it wasn't too bad. We left the doctor's office with hydrocortizone cream and used that for a couple of days.

You can write off medical expenses not covered by insurance if they exceed (I think) 7% of your income.

Suzanne

 

[CEDmom]

I've never had the skin tests but I know people that have and they didn't think they were too bad. I know how you feel about not wanting to inflict unnecessary pain on your DS because I feel the same way and I think most other parents do as well.

However, $1200 is a lot of money. Could you find out more from your doctor about the skin tests and any pain involved. Maybe you could take your DS to the toy store after the skin tests and let him pick something out.

DD had to get blood drawn a few months ago and she was really scared and upset but once I calmed her down and promised a trip to Chuck E Cheese afterwards she almost couldn't wait to go have it done. When it was all done she said it wasn't too bad.

 

[disykat]

Unless the money isn't an issue at all I would wait and do the skin tests. My son has had them done (I have too). They really are not invasive at all - a far cry from what I remember as a child. He didn't feel any pain at all, just some itching. After the allergens have been recorded, you can give him antihistamine.

When my son had them done at age 8, we planned an ice cream cone afterwards. My son is 11 now - I just asked him and he said it was no big deal. He said he'd rather do that than go to the dentist.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

As an "allergy person" I have to ask what kind of skin patch test?

There are two. One test is ineffective (bunch of pricks on your back all at once) and one test is the one you want. I have had both.

I have asked my allergist about the blood test and from what they told me (my understanding) is that it only tells you what you are highly allergic too.

The real problem with allergies is that it is normally a ton of things you are mildly allergic tool, in combination, could be the problem. Blood test may not pick up on this.

However the test I had was individual needles injected one at a time and my test is very specific. If your child is fearful of needles then this would be hard to do. However this is the most effective method (that I know of) to find out what you are allergic too.

I don't know what is the right course for you. If your child IS allergic what plan of action are they proposing and who will pay for that?

Good Luck!

 

[hockeymom7691]

Personally I would do the blood test. I had the skin test done when I was around 6 or 7 and I still remember it to this day. They did it on your back then and it was terrible (ok, maybe I was a BIG BABY).

I've thought about having my son tested but I decided that I wouldn't put him through that. I had the allergy shots every week and they really didn't seem to help. An allergy medicine precribed from the doctor seemed to work better for me.

My son's doctor prescribed zyrtec for him and it seems to be working so the allergy testing hasn't crossed my mind since.