I feel a bit of a fool for asking this but... what do RAST scores actually mean? Our allergy specialist didn?t tell me DS?s actual scores (I looked over her shoulder and read them on her screen). Over the past few weeks I?ve been reading other threads which have confused me a bit.
Here?s the background: DS is allergic to various foods (too many to list) but has only had RAST tests for the ?big eight? most common allergens. Thankfully, he?s okay with fish and shellfish. His results for wheat and soya were 3.0 and 3.5 but happily we have discovered that he is fine with both wheat and soya. His result for tree nuts was 8.5 and we have been told to avoid all nuts, including peanuts. (He?s never come into contact with nuts and I don?t know what his reaction would be.) His scores for eggs and milk were 67 and 85 and if even a tiny drop of milk or yoghurt touches his skin he gets hives that keep on spreading until I dose him up with antihistamine. We have an epipen but haven?t ever used it.
Sorry this is a bit long. Here are my questions:
What is a ?high? score? Does the result of the RAST test give any indication of how severe a reaction might be? Does a high score mean that a child is less likely to grow out of the allergy?
Thank you in advance to any of you knowledgeable people who might be able to help.