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Allergies and intolerances

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Original poster

Probably a stupid question but.... Have we ruined DS's next week's prick tests?

12 replies

Chandra · 25/06/2006 18:23

ARGHHHHHHH! 18m waiting for them, 18m in a very restricted diet not sure whether we should really be more or less careful than we are. And... it seems that we may have ruined DS's tests even before they take place:

We were told not to give DS antihistamines or apply streroids 7 days prior to the tests. We followed instructions to the letter but we had been invited to a friend's house yesterday and just last week I find out she had a cat. We are not sure what caused DS's worst asthma attack sa few months ago but the day it happened DS had been around cats. So, we rang other friends and ask them to babysit as we didn't want to risk a reaction and therefore, altering the tests results.

Babysitting friend is allergic to cats so we thought DS would be OK, but while he was at their house a little cat came into the garden and DS was near to it, they told me he didn't touch it but when we picked up DS, he had the characteristic asmathic cough. I gave him a homeopatic remedy for the coughing that seemed to calm it a bit but, when I checked him before going to sleep he was wheezing so badly that we had to use the blue inhaler (Ventolin). Wheezing and coughing stoped almost straight away. But, although I know I couldn't risk it I'm wondering if we have ruined next week's test's accuracy? have we?

Thanks in advance for any comment you could make, it would take a lifetime to get another appointment for the tests but I really want to know if I could really trust the results.

OP posts:
Morgan · 25/06/2006 18:33

Don't know anything re thet tests but as i understand it blue inhaler does not have steroids. I was told it was ok to use it during pg for this reason but not to use the brown one.

Original poster
Chandra · 25/06/2006 21:31

Thanks Morgan! big sigh of relief here!

OP posts:
Blandmum · 25/06/2006 21:35

Blue inhaler is a brochodilator and not a steriod.

It just helps to relax the muscles in the chest that narrow the air passages when you get an asthma attack

Gillian76 · 25/06/2006 21:36

That's my understanding too. Hope it works out for you!

foxinsocks · 25/06/2006 21:40

I can't fully remember (because dd's tests were years ago) but I think dd carried on with her normal asthma inhalers (both the ventolin and the becotide) before she had her skin prick tests. They certainly never told me to stop giving them to her - do remember about the antihistamines though!

I think you've followed exactly what they told you. I didn't realise the tests had come around already. Good luck - I hope they go ok.

Original poster
Chandra · 25/06/2006 21:45

I was not sure which one was what and misplaced the leaflet that came with them.

Many thanks

I will let you know how it went.

OP posts:
Original poster
Chandra · 27/06/2006 21:08

Well, not exactly a good day today, we went for DS's tests today and things have taken an unexpected turn. I was expecting that they would tell us that DS was ready to try soya and fish again, that they may say he was not really allergic to nuts, and that he would be fine with egg (we knew about his egg allergy because of previous RAST test -very high out of the scale results for egg but we never could point a finger on it before then) and.... the veredict was the following:

He is no longer allergic to milk but was told to continue avoiding it as it was evident he was very intolerant to it.

They couldn't test for fish and soya because... they have run out of serum!!! They said they will test him again in the future when they get it (probably in a few years more, knowing how little appointment space they have)

He is still allergic to egg, so no change in that front.

As for peanuts..... the doctor looked at me and said, "I have to conceed you were right all the time", and proceeded to write a prescription for DS's first epipens. In a way I'm sad but relieved that he finally got them, he will be safer now, but I have this ackward feeling that we shouldn't be going around without one since his first reaction but not a single doctor we saw took us seriously about it, we take them ELISA tests, RAST tests and they insisted they were no good, but even with those result, they dragged their feet for 18m just to tell me I was right... I just have to be thankful that nothing happened to DS in the mean time.

OP posts:
Original poster
Chandra · 27/06/2006 21:11

Oops, meant to start another thread and didn't realise I was posting still in this one...

OP posts:
spidermama · 27/06/2006 21:12

Well done chandra for knowing best. I'm glad you've had your knowlege born out at last and the treatment given.

Isn't it absurd how few allergists we have in this country compared to the rest of Europe?

BTW, how did you go about getting him tested? I want to get my ds tested but my gp says he has no idea how to go about it. I'm resigned to doing it privately but how?

Original poster
Chandra · 27/06/2006 21:27

There are several channels you can follow but it much depends in the number of allergicians/immmunologists available on your area and the good will of your GP (although GP can bypass the allergician an order the tests, RAST I believe, at a cost of £8 per allergen approx).

Unfortunately we had a bad time convincing the GP that the tests were needed and when we finally did, we waited for 3 months without hearing of the consultant and decided to go private but even then the GP couldn't find an allergician in the area who was not booked for several years in advance, most of them refused to test him until he was 5 (he was 2 then). So after months of frustration we took him to Spain to have the tests privately over there, we came back with the RAST results which the paed here dismissed and put us in the waiting list for prick tests. It took 18m to get the appointment though. So good luck Spidermama, hopefully you have better luck than we did, don't loose the faith and keep insisting.

OP posts:
Original poster
Chandra · 27/06/2006 21:27

There are several channels you can follow but it much depends in the number of allergicians/immmunologists available on your area and the good will of your GP (although GP can bypass the allergician an order the tests, RAST I believe, at a cost of £8 per allergen approx).

Unfortunately we had a bad time convincing the GP that the tests were needed and when we finally did, we waited for 3 months without hearing of the consultant and decided to go private but even then the GP couldn't find an allergician in the area who was not booked for several years in advance, most of them refused to test him until he was 5 (he was 2 then). So after months of frustration we took him to Spain to have the tests privately over there, we came back with the RAST results which the paed here dismissed and put us in the waiting list for prick tests. It took 18m to get the appointment though. So good luck Spidermama, hopefully you have better luck than we did, don't loose the faith and keep insisting.

OP posts:
spidermama · 27/06/2006 21:30

Chandra thanks for that. I will have to go private.

We have such a blind spot about allergies and yet we have particularly high rates of things like asthma and exzema which are often related to allergies.

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