Blue Bummed Fly & other peanut allergy experts; IgE >0.35...

[hellish]

DD2 (6) got a blood test result >.35 and her allergist is recommending a challenge test in his office. (not the hospital).
Does anyone have experience with this? The info he has sent me seems to suggest that she will eat peanut M&Ms (cut up into tiny pieces). She'll eat a bigger piece every 15 mins if no reaction.

I'm not sure if we should go ahead with it or just carry on avoiding?

help, anyone else have experience of this?

that sounds like a low result. What sort of "allergist" as that can be used for anything from untrained quack to NHS consultant? Have they suggested rubbing peanut on their arms/face first or just straight into m&ms?

With such a very low figure the challenge might be fine but I'd still want to be sure this is someone who knows what they are doing and has adrenaline ready to adminster if necessary.

My child can't have a food challenge for peanut but we were offered one for a different nut so I know how a good NHS consultant tests.

DD is supposed to have a milk challenge soon, but that's at the hospital... does sound a bit odd IMO having a peanut challenge at the allergist's office. I would agree with tatt though - it depends exactly who this person is and what their qualifications are.

We were told the milk challenge would involve a drop of milk on DD's lip, wait 30 mins, a drop on her tongue, wait 30 mins, a teaspoonful to drink, wait 30 mins, etc etc, over the course of a day, followed by a 2-hour wait at the end in case of a delayed reaction. This is all at an NHS children's hospital.

Hi, thanks for you replies. The milk challenge sounds quite similar cuppachar.

The allergist is a proper doctor. We're in Canada but he is the equivilent of an NHS consultant. They don't tend to be connected to hospitals here but come under proper guidelines etc

DD2 has her own Epi-Pens which of cuorse we will have with us. She had a reaction 2.5 years ago to a peanut and has carried one since.

I would probably go for it then I think... Apparently a fifth of children outgrow peanut allergy, so if your DD is one of the lucky ones it would be a shame to go on avoiding peanuts and worrying about nut traces in everything. Good luck!

HI DD, The prick test is much better first before any challenge test. The prick test very very simple as a small drop of allergen is put on her child's skin and an extremely small scrap on the skin under the allergen is made. In this way the likelihood of anphylactic shock is lessoned by 99%. If the small reaction to the allegen is more than 1cm in diameter after 15 minutes then your child can have the potential to have anaphylactic to the allergen.

The challenge test, if poceeded with, must be done in a hospital, if the prick test is over 1cm in diameter, which is prepared for emergencies. However, if your child's results are over 1cm in diameter do you really want to risk any more tests as you already have the result. I personally don't like someone force feeding my child knowing it may be life threatening when I actually already know the results from the prick test. The prick test is much more reliable than the RAST.

Her RAST results seem low, however, remember RAST can give false positives and negatives and therefore is not reliable. This test is only an indicator of the potential and not the severity of any allergy.

I don't know if this helps you, however, it may give you another option to ask for which may ease your mind.

Tup

Hello! Sorry, been mad this week. It does sound low but I would much prefer and skin prick challenge first. It gives me heebie jeebies thinking of peanuts in their most evident form being used in a non-hospital environment.

Like Tuppi says, once you have the skin prick test results you can make a better decision on the way ahead.

Can you talk to the doc again? Ask for a skin prick test?

Hi, thanks very much for the replies.

DD has had a skin prick test and it was on that basis that the RAST was recommended. On the skin prick test her reaction was 7mm.

What do you think? It sounds very scarey to me, but I don't want to deny her the opportunity to know.

sorry I haven't come back to this thread for so long
Thanks again

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Hiya hun, not been around either, life it mad.

I can totally understand the worry of an oral challenge especially the way the doc seems to be offering it ie not under hospital conditions.

Personally I would need to know, is there any way you can have dd referred to the local hospital allergist? I always thought the first oral challenge was to rub some on the cheek not a full blown m&m.

Where is your local Heath authority?

Hi, I'm in Canada so everything is a bit different here. A doctors "office" is what we would call his surgery.
Still, I think I might phone and see if we can do it in the hospital.

Hi Hellish - I think it would be best and you would be less stressed. If you are stressed going into the lest it may well rub off on your LO and that could make everyone very tetchy and upset. Go for the safest and least stressy option IMO.