Negative in skin prick test but seems to be having a reaction

[FrillyMilly]

DD is 3.5 and seems to have an allergy but not sure what too. She started with eczema when she was a baby and she has bad flare ups every so often. These usually happen in summer. When she has a flare up her face and eyes will swell. She has needed a course of steroid tablets once when it wouldn't respond to anti histamines.

She had skin prick tests for common allergens but nothing came up. We thought it may be suncream but they decided not to do patch testing and told us to just keep trying different creams til we found one that didn't cause a reaction. We haven't had chance really as she hasn't needed suncream. Her eczema has been under control over the winter, bit dryer due to central heating but no flare ups. However last couple of days it's been getting worse and today her face is a bit swollen. The only thing she has had that she doesn't normally is strawberries. I got them cos she begged in the supermarket as I usually only get them in summer. Could she be reacting to these even though the skin prick test was negative?

Does anyone have any advice on where we go from here? It really worries me that her face swells and worry that one day the reaction will be worse. The hospital weren't really interested once the skin prick tests showed negative. I can't remember now what they tested and what they didn't. I hate seeing her with her skin red raw but feel like I'm over reacting given the lack of concern at the hospital.

hi there

i would keep a food diary for a month or so, noting any connection between 'occasional' foods and reactions and go back to your GP if you suspect anything at all

do you have anithistamines to give her in case of emergencies, or even Epipens?

FWIW, my DD's skin prick tests didn't react either, despite her having full blown anaphylaxis, twice.

hello frillymilly
my ds 11yrs old has multiple allergies,including the full nut programme,he only got tested by skin patches after he had a life threatening asthma attack,the tests were done to find any asthma triggers,he is allergic to all the known triggers,you havent said if your dd is asthmatic or not.
sometimes i never know what has set his allergies off
keep on at your gp something will show up if they keep on testing her.

She has suspected asthma and we do have a ventolin inhaler for her. I do have anti histamines for her but on one occasion it didn't respond to the anti histamines. My biggest concern is she has just started pre school so worried about her coming in to contact with whatever it is she is allergic to whilst I'm not there.

I will keep a food diary to see if anything triggers the flare ups. I've got an appointment with the GP next week. We have moved area and the health visitor said if I wanted I could ask to go to our new hospital.

food diary great.

my son sounds just like your baby...mine is now 10 yrs old!!

and has reacted to LOTS of things.

best advise is to carry piriton EVERYWHERE and have spares in your house and cars xxx

sure skin will get better...my baby was born with open bleeding sores and is now fine...asthma only bought on by foods and dog hair and hay, straw etc.

Hello

Ask you GP to refer you to an Allergy Clinic rather than just the local hospital.
DD had her first bad reaction to wheat at 6.5 months and we ended up in a&e. We were then referred to the dietician at the same local hospital and as lovely as the staff were they really didn't have a clue about testing and the correct protocols to follow. In fact they did skin prick tests on DD for wheat twice and both were negative, so they did a challenge and that was her second really bad reaction. I asked to be referred to an allergist and they immediately prescribed her epipens and also did blood tests which confirmed their skin prick tests. That was the first time in 18 months that we felt like we were getting the right level of care. When I mentioned this to the dietician at the local hospital, she admitted they were out of their depth.

The GP has to refer you and if you need help with where your nearest clinics are then try calling the Allergy UK helpline as they can advise you on this sort of thing, so you can go to the GP and request which one you want to be referred to.
Good Luck and I hope you find out what it is soon and that your DD doesn't have any serious reactions.

Incidentally, someone mentioned on another post that tree pollen is bad at the moment, so could it be that with your DD? Also strawberries are naturally high in histamine, so it could be that your DD reacted to that. Maybe someone will be able to explain why high histamine foods can cause a problem in some people. My DD's allergist did explain it to me, but for the life of me I can't remember what he said.
Take care