Should DS2 have been referred to an allergist by now? Severe milk/wheat/egg allergies

[theLoneFeeder]

DS2 is 14 months old and is anaphylactic to milk and wheat. He's also severely allergic to eggs although we don't know if anaphylactic as he's never had them - it was identified through RAST. The blood was taken at the time of his first A&E admittance and they've refused to do any more tests. In addition, he's moderately allergic to legumes, incl soya. My question is...should he have been referred to an allergist by now? So far we have only seen the paed at our local hospital and have an appt every 6 months. I see others on here talking about babies going into the leap study etc, and nothing of this nature has ever been mentioned to us. Are we missing out here?

Will watch with interest. We also had a do last week ended up at a & e no help or advise given but my gp was great and has referred us for tests. Got an epipen just in case and whoo hoo apt has just come through for march.

that's interesting soremummy...how old is your dc? We were told we couldn't have an epipen because he's too young and we should be able to safely control what he eats . Yeah...toddlers hardly ever stuff things in their mouths without you noticing . It's very worrying isn't it...

Appts for allergy clinics are rare - there is a shortage of allergists.It may be that you are in a particularly difficult area. You should be pushing for one.

Thanks Pagwatch...we have an appt with the paed on the 28th of this month, so I'll push for it then. I just wanted to gauage whether it was something they should have done by now. His allergies are so severe and limiting, I really feel they should be helping more

If you want to join the LEAP Study you don't need a referral - you can contact them on 0800 234 6522 or look at their website for more info: www.leapstudy.co.uk

DD's allergies don't sound as severe as your DS's but we have had no problems getting referrals to the allergy consultant where we live, as well as dietician appointments. I do think attending the LEAP Study assessment at 7 months helped though, and it was the doctor there who prescribed the epipen. DD was initially tested at 7 months for the LEAP Study, then was retested locally at 15 months.

Could it be just that the paed you see is sufficiently qualified/experienced in allergies that you're getting the right care anyway?

Good luck - maybe if you ask the paed at the next appointment and explain your concerns you'll understand more why you're not getting referred?

oh... I've just seen you live in Scotland so I doubt you'd be interested in taking part in the LEAP Study, which is in London - that's probably why you haven't been told about it! Still, I would definitely push for a referral / skin prick testing if you're unhappy with your current treatment. If the paed is unhelpful, try speaking to your GP instead - I know GPs don't have a great record on understanding allergies but your might be helpful!

ah...thanks, I hadn't understood that the leap study was only in London . No, I don't think our paed is sufficiently experienced - all she does is weigh him and say 'so...how are we getting on?'. I know there's an allergist in Yorkhill...so I'll push to be referred there.

By the way, our appointments are also only every 6 months, so I think the frequency of your appointments may be normal, it's just it doesn't sound as if you're really seeing the right person. DD has never had an anaphylactic reaction so I feel your DS should definitely be given access to the right care as his case is mroe serious. Also if you don't get retested periodically, you will never know if he in fact is growing out of them... I also think they should give your DS an epipen - we have two sets, one for home and one for nursery.

Have the Paed and GP actually seen the RAST results from the hospital? I'm just wondering if they somehow don't realise the severity of his allergies? If you weren't given a copy of the results you could request one.

Sorry my internet went on me. My dd is 20 months old and my gp was horrified that the hospital hadn't given me the epipen even though she is very very small for her age she decided that it was much safer in case she had another reaction, apparantly the first time they react is a warning and the body remembers what they have reacted to and if they react again to the same thing it is usually very severe this is why she gave the epipen to us, she weighs 7.2kg and it says on instructions that care should be given when administering to patients weighing less than 15kg.

If I were you I would get in touch with hv/gp and go through the results and insist on further allergy tests or follow up I have a feeling you might be lost in the system.

At the moment we are paranoid that she might react to something else, fgs it was only a 42g fromage frais thing but in less the 10 minutes you couldnt see any definition between her eyes/nose and top of her lips.

Btw can anyone tell me what RAST is?
thanks

Soremummy - the RAST is the blood tests they do. They take the little one's blood and expose it to potential allergens and then measure the IgE reaction (I think that's how it works). I think you're right that we've probably been overlooked somewhat. My DS's first reaction was also to a fromage frais - eeeevil things!!!

Cuppachar - that's a good idea to ask for a copy of the results. I'll do that at the next appointment. The paed did have them in front of her the last time, but I didn't get to read them.

Thanks everyone for all your helpful responses - I'm so glad I posted here!!!

tLF, whereabouts in Scotland are you?

We're in Glasgow and it took 3 months for DS to be seen by the allergist at Yorkhill, Dr Hague.

You should definitely ask for a referral

We're in Stirling, so would need to go through to Yorkhill or Edinburgh....am definitely going to kick up a major fuss at his next appt!!!

Yes, definitely ask for a referral - actually don't ask, insist.

We were referred to the allergy clinic at the local childrens' hospital after ds1 had a mild reaction to milk. They then picked up his more serious peanut allergy before we fed him any(thankful emoticon).

An allergist will be better placed to offer allergy support and advice than a pediatrician