Still a bit confused over allergy results

[mumto3boys]

In fact the confusion is stemming from reading about other children's results on here and realising that my children's seem different!

At the age of 2 one of my twins had a possible mild reaction to peanut butter. The nurse said it was unlikely to be a reaction as it occured 24 hours later ( I now know this is still possible). So he had it again and on contact immediately came out in hives around his mouth.

He was given a blood test at the hospital for various foods and we were told that the result was 1 for peanut and 1 for egg, so a mild allergy. Other nuts was 0 but we have been told to still avoid as he hadn't been exposed to them.

Both boys have asthma and after one of them had a major attack last year (the one with peanut allergy) they were both given more allergy tests.

Results came back as

Peanut - 1

Egg - 2 (increased from 1 the previous year)

Soya - 1

Milk - 3

wheat - 2

Dust mite - 1 for one boy and 0 for the other.

We were told that the milk was a moderate allergy and to avoid egg for now as the allergy had worsened. We discovered that removing wheat from the diet helped the constipation in one twin and after a while we re introduced it with no problems.

The reason I am confused is when I have seen other chidlren's results on here, they are not given like this. The scale I was given only goes up to 5 and measures the likelihood of a reaction, not how severe the reactions will be.

Also, my children don't seem to have many reactions to their allergens. Since re introducing dairy and egg, all we have noticed is that quite a lot of it gives them a runny tum. we still tend to be dairy and egg reduced - so soya milk and yogurts and dairy free spread etc, but when we give milk and eggs there isn't any big reaction.

Also they did test positive to soya but there is absolutely no reaction to it.

One twin did suffer eczema as a baby but this was then replaced with the asthma.

The change in diet hasb't particularly changed the asthma either.

We have been tld to slowly re introduce the allergic foods (with the exception of peanuts) with with the reactions so very mild, it is difficult to determine the cause.

I am not particularly sure where I am going with this post! Only that I am hoping someone can make this clearer for me.

all kids react differently. also different areas will use different labs and so have different reporting techniques, although I must say I am unfamiliar with the one you mention.
peanuts and other nuts are different. peanuts are not nuts as such, they are legumes, same family as peas, beans etc whereas other nuts are members of the ''tree nut'' family

I have been researching and reading about allergies recently and one thing that comes to mind is nitrogen. legumes are known for their nitrogen storing abilities via their roots (this is where you find the peanut, on the roots) and so has a higher nitrogen content. all protien digestion produces nitrogen which itself is turned into urea by the body for removal via the kidneys (urine).
wheat (via its protiens), milk/dairy (casein), egg (animal protien) will cause nitrogen production via thier digestion, soya on the other hand has protiens but are a different structure and are easily digested so may not produce the higher amount of nitrogen as the others will as we do have sufficient enzymes to break these down whereas with the other protiens, not everyone has those enzymes needed and are naturally harder to digest (which will increase the nitrogen production as everything has to work harder).
it is a theory being studied and does answer some of the questions you have.
I do not know how this would be measured but may be worth asking at the next visit to the GP to check the U+E's (kidney function) to see if urea is elevated.

eczema and asthma in kids is often linked too so that is not unusual although it is distressing sometimes.

the runny tum part also sounds like an inability to digest fully, as undigested food triggers the brain to tell the body to absorb less fluid from the bowels to make the poo runnier to aid quicker removal ie to flush it out. I have used a digestive enzyme product along with other digestive aids in kids but not as young as 2 years old, and I would not tell you here what I used or how as if this is something you wanted to consider, you would need to see a qualified herbalist/nutritionist and work with your GP. I hope this goes someway in helping but I imagine that it will only make you think more????

one thing I always reccommend though is to keep a diary. list all the foods eaten, when eaten and any reactions and when those reactions occur. I have never come across anyone who has not learned something new from doing this even for as little as a week but best over a 2-4 week period

Think these must be referrring to RAST (blood) test classifications:

IGE LEVEL CLASS
IGE < 0.35 0 (NEGATIVE)
0.35 - 0.69 1 LOW
0.70 - 3.49 2 MODERATE
3.50 - 17.49 3 HIGH
17.50 - 49 4 VERY HIGH
50 - 99 5 VERY HIGH

100 6 VERY HIGH

these classes were on some test results we got back.

My daughter had a 3 for hazlenut, a 2 for peanut, walnut, sesame, and wheat, and a 1 for almond, milk and egg white.

We are avoiding the nuts and sesame for now, but she has always had milk, egg and wheat with no problems at all, so we have carried on giving her them.

We have been told even if you are classed as a 1, you must still avoid the allergen because a low result DOES NOT mean that the reaction will be any less severe .

The results of your boys seem similar to my daughters and the good news is that 'cos they are low, there may be more chance of growing out of them. Our consultant has suggested an oral challenge in a controlled environment, we may consider it in the next year or two if her results continue going down!!

Results are quoted in different ways, so don't be concerned about the different ways of recording.

My nut allergic child tests positive to soy but is OK with soy flour. They react to soy milk (tingling in the mouth so doesn't drink it). Soy and peanut contain some of the same proteins so it's not unusual for peanut allergic people to have positive tests for soy. They don't always mean clinically important reactions.

Children commonly grow out of milk and egg allergy and with that low a score for peanut there is hope of outgrowing that too