Worried about allergy testing

[JamTarte]

DS is 16mo and had bad allergic reaction to strawberries. Also has eczema and we suspect a lactose or CMP intolerance.

We are booked in to the allergy clinic at our local hospital on Monday but have no idea what will be involved. Is he likely to have to have blood taken or can they just test substances on his skin?

I'm really worried about him having blood taken as he went through so much as a little baby (hospital stay, operation, lots of tests) and the thought of putting him through any sort of pain is really putting me off getting anything done.

Would be really grateful if anyone could tell me their experiences of the process

My 3 yr old had just been tested for a reaction to kiwi. They did it through a blood test and numbed the area with a spray first. They can test for multiple allergies that way with one test. She didn't feel a thing and carried on happily playing afterwards.
The skin tests are worse IMO, I had them once and they have to scratch the surface of skin to break it, for the substance to get underneath and cause a reaction iyswim. So I would prefer a blood test anyway.
It's all done so quick he probably won't feel it all.

Ah that doesn't sound too bad. Can I ask where they took the blood from?

We've also been asked to bring in samples of food we would like him to be allergy tested for so we will take kiwi as I'm wondering about that, as well as pineapples and tomatoes.

Did you have to take any food in? Seems an odd thing to request!
Thanks for replying .

It was from her arm. We didn't have to take food in though, maybe they are doing some other kind of test with him. I'm sure he'll be fine though.