Best tests for allergies?

[zizou]

My dd 8 was diagnosed with nut anaphylaxis at 4. She doesn't have it severely, but has Epipens at school and wherever we go.
I would like to get her retested. She has only ever had one reaction, which was to peanut butter when she was 2.5 (first and only time she had it.).
My younger dd had multiple allergies, wheat, dairy, soya, up till 4; she is now allowed everything but I think she is immune compromised - she gets ill a LOT - and therefore may still be allergic.She has also never been tested for nuts but we are assuming she is anaphylactic - it is easier anyway if she does not eat them.
We spent so long when the dds were younger going back and forth from GOS and other hospitals and I am wondering if there are any valid, privately administered tests I could have done on them.

[zizou]

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[foxinsocks]

must dash now - but here you are - have been thinking of taking dd here myself if the NHS wait is v long.

[FunMumm]

Hi zizou... My DS is allergy tested every year with a skin prick test... he is allergic to dairy eggs and nuts, and has an epi pen..

what reaction did she have when she ate the peanut butter? just wondered why you said it wasn't severe, but has an epi-pen where ever you go? how was she tested before? did they not mention retesting at all

[zizou]

Hi fis and funnmum. She had a minor anaphylactic reaction to peanuts - hives, swollen lips/throat/pallor/anxiety/nausea. Luckily I knew she was atopic and she was already allergic to dairy wheat and soya (like the other one ) so I had piriton and chucked the entire bottle down her. It was on a train stuck between stations........

She has had skin prick and blood tests on the nhs, and challenges for the other substances. SHe was given epipen as anaphylaxis can increase in severity over time. But she regularly eats "may contain traces of nuts" products, which is why I think she may be over it or at least not that severe.

The other one has had skin prick and blood tests and challenges, but nothing for nuts.

FIS that place looks good. I think I may well go there.
thank you.

[Hilllary]

Hi zizou my dd had an anaphylactic shock reaction to egg at 9 months I took her to hospital and they did their thing. I made an appointment to see the gp who said a referal would take months for allergy testing etc. My dd was and is a member of bupa so I called them, within 3 days she had seen a leading allergy consultant, he recommended a blood test to test against sensitivities as it is less invasive, all tests test for sensitivities but as he said no test is totally conclusive as you may test negative for a substance on the day of the test but be allergic to it the week later. Although it will tell you the liklyhood of becoming allergic to it.

A private consultation was about £200 and blood test about £80. I am very glad I went private.

[Chandra]

You can get the same tests the NHS do privately, but sometimes it's difficult to get hold of an allergician or inmunologist. We couldn't find one that was not booked until the end of the times in the region where I live so... took DS abroad for them (not that difficult as we have half of our life out there and one of DS's friends is an allergician) we paid about 400 euros for about 20 substances in RAST test + an extra test to dismiss the possibility of heim being coeliac. He later was given an appointment with the NHS, 18m after the inital referal.

Agree with Hillary that there is no perfect test. DS has had a batery of them and although the results are very similar sometimes he has come positive for things other tests said he wasn't, or negative for things he reacts immediatly to.