Allergy testing

DS has really bad eczema, but has never had a reaction to any food. DH thinks it has to do with allergies- I don't know. Anyway, this weekend, DS got a swollen eye. I was away and my mom was watching him. I had no cell service where I was, so I couldn't even see a picture. His eye has swollen a few times- always on the bottom, never bad, so I told my mom it was probably nothing. I got home this morning and it was so much worse than it's ever been and according to my mom, it looked so much better today. I'm going to take him to the doctor for his eye tomorrow, but I want to look into allergy testing too. I plan on asking the doctor about it, but I want to know what others have done.

Where did you get your child tested for allergies?
What prompted allergy testing?
What did they do to test?
Any other information you'd like to share?

Thanks!

Re: Allergy testing

DS has bad allergies and also used to get eczema and very swollen. I took him to the Ped twice when he could barely open his eyes. The Ped prescribed a steroid cream for the eczema and suggested going to an allergist.
The allergist did a scratch test which was no big deal. Took a moment then he got to watch tv while we waited for a reaction.
We learned he's highly allergic to tree polen. He is also allergic to dog dander and a bunch of other stuff.

Before deciding on going to an allergist we have tried every over the counter allergy med for children there is. It started at 2. He blew up once when dh was blowing the leaves.

He was prescribed a strong allergy med he starts in March and usually stop mid June
Good luck.

Re: Allergy testing

I brought my DS to an allergist at 8 months because when ever I gave him yogurt his face would turn red. I am so glad I did because they did the skin testing and although he didn't come up as allergic to milk, he is allergic to eggs, peanuts/tree nut, cats and dogs. My son had an eye swelling reaction to my sisters dog shortly after that. The Dr had me follow up with the blood test to confirm that there were any false positives.

Re: Allergy testing

Eczema is usually related to allergies. That might be how he manifests his allergy, as well as the swollen eye.

I would bring him to a pediatric allergist. It was very easy. Our examined my kids, asked a bunch of questions and ultimately did testing. They might do blood testing but prick testing is more accurate.

I would go to an allergist though and not go through the ped, because they will be more through. I would go sooner rather than later as a swollen eye would have me concerned.

There are many allergies not related to food as well, dust, other environmental things, latex, soaps, shampoos, medicines. It might be something you use in your home.

DTD to add we went because of hives, but my daughter got a full rash and swollen eyes from pools in the past, that we think she either outgrew or they switched chemicals.

Message edited 1/12/2015 8:52:44 AM.

Re: Allergy testing

how old is your DS? Do you have any idea what the allergy is from?

Our ds was born with eczema but it seems to have gotten much better (he is only 7 months). We noticed a few weeks ago he had a bad allergic reaction (eyes swollen, red and watery, runny nose and sneezing) but we were able to attribute it to visiting a house with a dog & cat (not sure which though). We spoke to the ped and they said at this age its not worth testing him for pet allergies and to try to keep him away from pets and if it happens again to give benadryl. I believe he said a lot of kids can outgrow their allergies which is why they dont want to test him now (but this is all secondhand as Dh took him to the ped so i never really know if im getting accurate info )

Re: Allergy testing

Posted by jams92

how old is your DS? Do you have any idea what the allergy is from?

Our ds was born with eczema but it seems to have gotten much better (he is only 7 months). We noticed a few weeks ago he had a bad allergic reaction (eyes swollen, red and watery, runny nose and sneezing) but we were able to attribute it to visiting a house with a dog & cat (not sure which though). We spoke to the ped and they said at this age its not worth testing him for pet allergies and to try to keep him away from pets and if it happens again to give benadryl. I believe he said a lot of kids can outgrow their allergies which is why they dont want to test him now (but this is all secondhand as Dh took him to the ped so i never really know if im getting accurate info )