WHY do people not want to confirm an allergy?

[tatt]

Have a child to stay tonight and the mum told me when I picked her up that the child had a probable nut allergy. Talking to the kid her tongue swelled and her face got a bit swollen. She hasn't eaten them since.

Now catering obviously isn't a problem here (kid with peanut allergy so nut free house) but the child is teenage and is potentially at risk of a pretty severe reaction if accidentally exposed to nut. So WHY don't the stupid parents get her tested and if she is allergic get her an epipen? I am going to have to say something when I take her home ..........

Do they realise how serious it is?
I have come across this sort of attitude too, often from people who think that allergies are all made up anyway.

I've not spoken to child or parent before today. I suspect from the way it was raised that the mum does realise.

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WHAT???????

Is there another GP at your surgery who you could see? Thats the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

My GP did refer DS1 for allergy testing but when the school nurse asked for an epipen for him he said that until we had to call an ambulance for a severe allergic reaction he couldn't get one. 2 months later he was seen st the allergy clinic and they were horrified by what the GP had said. DS had skin prick testing and now has an epipen.

We looked into testing after our 1 year old had a possible reaction to homous (we assume because of sesame). It seemed that firstly, allergy testing is very unreliable, and secondly, that medical understanding of allergies is incomplete and it is not absolutely clear what the best approach is at that stage - whether it will inevitably turn into a dangerous allergy and whether it is better to avoid the possible allergen or to challenge him by giving him some.
I most certainly do believe in allergies and I'm not going to let him have anything that might have sesame in when we're out of range of medical help (eg the top of a mountain), but that was why we decided not to test, anyway.

That is bizarre. You'd think with a serious reaction like tongue swelling the parents would be very keen to get her tested. I'd have thought schools would need to know this and have appropriate medication.

Big difference between a 1 year old - where there may possibly be a chance of outgrowing an allergy and where testing is less reliable - and a teenager who is increasingly going to be making their own way in the world.

Orinoco see another gp in the practice if you can, if not call an ambulance immediately if it happens again - and tell your gp you will be doing so. Also if your child is over 3 tell your gp that if anything goes wrong you will sue them - and that as other gps do refer their insurers will not be happy.

Anyway spoke to the parents and I think they feel she was making it up/ exaggerating. Certainly possible but I have told them about the tests, how it could be worse next time and how litle time they have to get medical help. I hope that if they talk to their gp they have a sensible one.

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