Quick question re Allergy tests

[pimmsgalore]

I have had 4 reactions since the start of August. Have been issued epi pen, permanently stocking up on piriton and am keeping a food diary to see if I can work out what it is that I am allergic to.

So on Monday I saw the allergy consultant at local hospital (he is actually a dermatologist as we don't have an allergy person). He said there was no point in doing any skin prick or patch testing as I am obviously eating something that I react to (despite the first occurrence being 5 hours after I had eaten) so took some blood and said he would do RAST test for dairy,nuts,soya,shellfish and wheat. Now given that I eat most of those items normally day to day it is a bit strange to me to test for an allergy to these. Is this normal?

He also said that 90% of people never find out what they are allergic to and I should just carry on as normal and make sure I have my epi pen for when reactions occur. He would write with the results of the tests and other than that he probably wouldn't see me again as we probably won't find out what I am allergic to. Do you think he is doing the tests just to say he tried? He did seem very uninterested in working out what it is.

TIA for answers :)

NO! most people HAVE to find out what they are allergic to, as their lives are at risk.
if 90% of his patients have no idea what they are allergic to, they will be at high risk of a life threatening reaction. you cant avoid something when you have no idea what it is...(award for most crap statement from a doc must go to this chap!)

skin prick tests can be carried out for those who havent been taking antihistamne for 5 days prior before testing.

food allergens are found in the most common of foods. so your doc should be testing for the most common foods, although i wouldnt have bothered with dairy myself if you dont suspect it is causing a problem, because its in most foods and you would have been having more than 4 reactions if that was the problem.

nuts , seeds,( beans?), soya , are ok. shell fish is a bit odd as most people dont eat that every day, so unless you suspect it, and have eaten food with it, or traces of it in the food you ate when you reacted, i wouldnt have bothered.

also, are you on any daily meds? did you take any pain killers on the day you had a reaction?

it sounds like he is just blood testing you to what is available to him, rather than having any idea what might be the problem.
did he have a detailed list of your reaction history?
do you have ezcema and asthma, is the asthma under control?
have you been tested for environmental allergies as well?

were do you live? if you ring the anaphylaxis campaign help line they can give you names of the nearest doctor to you.
good luck.

Thanks eragon I thought he was a bit useless. He had no notes from when I was admitted to A&E and was very much of the opinion that as I have only had 4 reactions, 1 trip to A&E the others controlled by taking 6 piriton in one go (on advice of GP) that I would be just fine. I am not on any meds, after the reactions I have a rash for about 2 days and the last 2 reactions were worse with stomach cramps,swollen face, rash all over and going dizzy. He said only to use the epi pen if I was having trouble breathing but GP gave me the pen after last worst reaction.

He mentioned the shell fish as the only link I can find is that I had drunk wine on all occasions as they all happened late at night on a weekend. According to him lots of wine have shell fish in [shocked]

I hadn't taken piriton for a week as my GP said he would do a skin prick or patch test so glad I spent a week sneezing for no reason

I have allergies which are usually controlled with piriton, normal hay fever, and these have been worse this year but I put that down to not having them for the past 2 years as we have been living abroad and their pollen was nice to me :)

Will give him chance to send me the blood test results then I will be on the anaphylaxis uk as I suspect they will show nothing up and he will tell me toblive with it.

Thanks at least I know I am not the only one thinking his attitude was wrong.

Not sure this will help but my DS allergies are the same. Had a year of reactions to god knows what and then a severe reaction which ended up with him being prescribed epi-pens.

He has also had RASTs and also has hayfever. We have been told it's unlikely to find out what he's allergic too. Especially because we've only had a few minor incidents over the past year.

His severe reaction actually started as a mild case of facial hives which cleared after puiton, he then ate lunch and 6 hours later had the severe reaction - described as bi-phasic.

So unfortunatly if any of the obvious allergens are negative on RAST you may never know unless you can rule out food by elimination.

youarekidding that does sound like me, mine always start with my hands swelling and hives all over my body spreading from my face. I was beginning to think I was allergic to wine but have had the same wine that I reacted to again and not reacted to it (was not willing to give up my favourite wine without a second try). My DS had food intolerance's when he was younger (thankfully he grew out of them other than his allergy to zinc) we kept a food diary with him and within a couple of weeks I could pick out what the cause was, with mine there appears to be no common food at all.

Have you considered sulphites as the possible cause? Sulphites are common in wine and are a known allergen. Also, I assume you are keeping a food diary?

Freefrommum yes am keeping a food diary did consider the sulphites but as I reacted once to a certain brand and then not a week later with the same brand (I have 4DCs I need my wine) it made us think it may not be the wine. The 4 reactions I have had the only things that I have eaten/drunk that are not everyday items for me were a Merlot, a Chardonnay, half a glass of Champagne and a becks (which was very strange as German laws mean that the beer must be produced cleanly and they don't use chemicals) so am thinking these may be a red herring and perhaps it is an environmental cause (although it has happened in 3 different places).The only other thing I could think of is that I do react to fruit fly bites so maybe this has got worse and because I am coming out in so many hives I do not actually notice the one tiny bite, although the consultant didn't really care about that as it must be something I eat

Do you think it could be that drinking alcohol is contributing to the reaction being worse? I am certainly not an expert, but I am sure I have read others on here saying that alcohol is one of the factors that can cause what might be a mild reaction to become more severe, iyswim? So while it might not be the alcohol itself that you are reacting to, it might be a contributing factor - not what you not want to hear, I'm sure, but worth considering? I'm happy to be corrected if I'm off the mark here!

He said lots of wine has shellfish in it??? Has anyone else heard of this? I have a shellfish allergy,and have never reacted to wine. Surely he meant sulphites?!

He sounds a bit useless overall though. Is there anyone else you could see instead? If he has issued you with an epipen, your reaction must have been severe enough to warrant it. Therefore, you really need to find the cause. The best form of 'treatment' is avoidance!

This links to a list of various "fining agents" used in winemaking, brewing and distilling. Some of the agents are thought to be capable of provoking a reaction in a food-allergic person while there is less certainty about others. Also, as CasaBevron says, it seems alcohol can exacerbate allergies, esp in women, according to the link.
Second suggestion to contact the Anaphylaxis Campaign helpline to get advice about diagnosis and managment.

Likeaaninjanow yes he said shellfish I even asked if he meant sulphites. He said no but then he also said he thought the alcohol was a red herring. The nurse was stood behind him and just kept rolling her eyes, she came out of the room with me told me to read the epi pen instructions and follow their advice rather than his, pointed me in the direction of the blood test room and said (in not these words but implying it without getting herself in trouble)that he really isn't interested in the allergy people just the dermatology people. I joked that I should have shown him the tiny spot of dry skin on my ear (not eczema just a reaction to my ear rings that is in my notes which he obviously hadn't read)

ClaireOB the worst of the reactions happened from just putting the wine to my lips, didn't even drink any which is why we thought it was the wine (I peeled the label off and stuck it on my food diary for the day). Since this last most severe reaction I have not drunk any alcohol at all, it was scary for me so cannot contemplate how it is for those of you with DCs that go through severe reactions. I am however probably twice a week taking piriton as I keep getting very red itchy hands that if left unchecked will swell. Thanks for the links will print out and take with me if I have to go again.

I have decided I will wait for the test results (shouldn't be too long) then if he is of the opinion that he can't work it out contact anaphylaxis campaign and get help from them. I am not prepared to accept that I should just manage the reactions DH is forces and often away for long periods and I don't think I should risk a severe reaction occurring and one of my DCs having to deal with it.

Thank you everyone for your help, I am glad of your support :)

Let us know how you get on. Just a thought - it might be useful to talk to the Anaphylaxis Campaign people before you see the consultant again, as they might be able to help you prepare for the consultation, advise on what to ask etc. Or maybe help you find a better allergy clinic...

will do ClaireOB

Hi Pimms,

my son has had similar problems you mention - swelling of face, upper palate, inside cheeks to many different ingredients - he has epipen and takes diphenhydramine for not so severe reactions - we are unable to pinpoint a particular food. many RAST (which come back high because he has a high eosiniphilic count and doesn't mean he is actually allergic to those things) and other tests later - he is an allergic kid anyway - he has a high eosinophil count - dust mites, hayfever, coeliac disease, EE - the docs here in usa suggest that he may in fact have something called Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria - have a look on web - you can have some symptoms, and not others.

HTH

My DS also has the high eosiniphilic count. He has normal IgE and negative RASTS.

itshotintexas are you able to explain the implications of this? The Pead seemed to think it is because of the hayfever but the tests he had were winter when he wasn't exhibiting any symptoms. I just got that that meant there was some allergic response? My DS also has an epi-pen after a severe reaction and also we have no idea what causes the symptoms. It seems ketchup and sometimes other 'sauces' give him burning itchy skin.