would you ask for tests

[sporadicname]

Can I pick your brains, have read some of the threads and thought I would see if anybody has any advice.

DS (2) has had about 4 reactions to different food (including egg) varying from welts all over body, to rash around face, to slight swelling around lips. The reactions, especially compared to what some of you deal with, have been relatively minor. He has mild eczema which seems to flair up from time to time and become very itchy. He has had some swelling around the lips, when he possibly came into, but not eaten, nuts.

My question is, do you think we should push for testing at the Doctors as they seem really uninterested or should we pay privately, if you can, or should we just relax about the whole thing and see what happens?

I suppose I am worried about finding out about a new allergy through a severe reaction.

Sorry hope that is not too long to read.

Push hard for allergy testing. Allergic reactions can become more serious each time they happen (but not always, so don't panic unduly). If you can afford to pay privately, I would do so (and in fact I did!) but make sure you are referred by your GP to a proper specialist; don't go to one of those "snip off bits of your hair" charlatans.

In the meantime, make sure you have Piriton with you at all times so if your DS looks like he is having a reaction, you can act promptly. Or ask your pharmacist for an equivalent - there are some very good antihistamines available now. And if you can avoid nuts and eggs until you've had the allergy testing done, I would do so.

Don't "relax about the whole thing and see what happens" - if your DS really does have allergies, this could be a fatal mistake. Get on the phone to your GP right now!

Hope this helps.

Thanks MummyDragon. It does help, I don't have a good relationship with Doctors, they always manage to make me feel as though I am wasting their time. I had one fantastic Doctor a few years ago, but we moved.

I seem to lose all of my assertiveness when I am at the Doctors!

Hello my DS2 (17 months) has similar reactions to your DS. I took him to the docs a month or two ago (he was getting over a reaction and didn't look too bad) but showed her photos of him when skin reaction was worst and she has referred him for allergy testing (appt next week). She said she does not refer often but that pics showed quite strong skin reactions so wanted to be on safe side.

He gets lumpy red cheeks, which get a bit swollen, slightly swollen eyes, all over body rash (only once which was most recent time), stomach upset and what I think is also stomach pain (he screams a lot but seems better once poo is out!). Also has mild excema which can flare up.

I think he is allergic or intolerant to celery, tomatoes and peppers and he has been a different boy in last 6 weeks since we have been more vigilant in cutting these out completely. Much happier and less screamy (he could scream for 50% of waking day on occasions). This might be coincidence and just due to him getting a bit older and in a difference phase of course.

Can you try to see a different GP? I will let you know how our appt goes next week!

you are within your rights to ask for allergy testing.

just because they don;t agree does not mean that they are allowed to refuse if you ask.

I would go back, state what happens, and tell them you want a referral. if they say no, ask their reasons why. they should not be allowed to say no....they just rely on our fears of argueing with docs to 'shout us down' (IYGWIM).

not all docs are like this I hasten to add......but a few are that I know of

good luck

Thanks to egg (ironic game given the thread ) and psychomum.

You have all given me the kick I needed to go back and argue the case. Knew that if I was being too precious, MNers would tell me, so it' reassuring to know I should push for this. Will let you know how we get on!

Agree with the other posters - you must get your ds allergy tested. We were luckily already under the care of the dermatology dept at our hospital when the allergy problem appeared so didn't have to fight to get testing. We've also gone down the private route as well just to speed up certain tests, your GP would still have to refer you if you went privately though.

IME GP's aren't very knowledgeable when it comes to allergies and I think most seem to be fed up with people coming to see them with intolerances problems. BUT having a 2 year old covered in welts with swollen lips should ring enough bells with them to get you referred.

It's a horrible thing to face up to I know but please don't relax about it until you have some answers. Good luck

Sorry Sporadic - cross posted with you, wasn't meaning to hammer home the point

I also agree that taking photos can help your case, that way the GP can see the reaction for themselves and see that you are not over reacting.
If you ask for a referral the GP might ask where to? So perhaps have a look here for guidance www.bsaci.org
This lists NHS allergy specialists but the waiting lists can be long. Private consultations can be arranged very quickly but just make sure you ask how much tests and consultations are as these can be VERY expensive.

Definitely push for a referral.

I was lucky in that my GP witnessed DS's fairly spectacular reaction to being given formula for the first time, so she confirmed that it was an allergic reaction and instantly referred us. It can be hard to persuade Gps so if there are any more reactions I would photograph them.

Also carry piriton everywhere.

Ask for a referral (either NHS or privately - it will probably be the same doctor anyway) to your local paediatric consultant who specialises in childhood allergies.

Thank you all, I have wondered about the piriton, do they have such a thing as piriton sachets like the calpol ones?

Update

Well, DH took DS as we managed to get an appointment, but I was at work.

DH was very assertive, and told him the reactions DS has had so far and asked for allergy testing.

Doctor said there was no such thing

All they could test for was skin reactions such as cat hair and, more randomly, horse hair!

DH calmly explained, several times, that we had looked into it and there WAS SUCH A THING!

Doctor remained adamant that he had tried to refer before and the hospital wouldn't 'allow' him to as there was no tests currently available.

Needless to say we are going to back again next week and ask if there is a Doctor at the surgery who knows what he is talking about has some training in this area.

I am horrified, we thought DH would have a bit of a battle on his hands, but we didn't expect this kind of stupidity response.

That doctor is patently trying to save money for his practice and not thinking about what's best for your child.
You need to demand a second opinion from a pediatrician at the very least. Keep a food diary and note the reactions that he's had. This is ridiculous that you're not getting support. Hopefully he doesn't have another severe reaction but if so, definitely give piriton straight away (haven't seen it in sachets, unfortunately).

My DD has had milk and soya allergy diagnosed - but only after I insisted on a referral to a pediatrician who then sent us to an allergy specialist. It took 10 days of gastroenteritis (incl. 2 visits to A&E), 2 months on soya formula, 5 days on lactose free and then a month of almost continuous appointments before my suspicions were confirmed.

We are lucky enough to have private healthcare but it still took a month to see the specialist.
Had skin prick testing which all showed up as negative and blood tests which also were inconclusive but allergy specialist (Professor, no less!) said that this is quite common in babies and she should grow out of it by the age of 3-5.
The reason for this long story is that you should not be put off - see another gp and demand a second opinion at the very least!!!!

Good luck!

Thanks London, We are hoping to go next week.

Hopefully we will have more luck then. It is Doctors like this that have made me really wary of them and it is such a shame as there are some really good ones out there.

How did you get your private tests organised? I am hoping we won't need to go down this route, but after today it is looking more likely.

Can I suggest that you find out who does allergy testing at the nearby hospitals and then ask for a referral to Dr ... Then if you get the same sort of response you can get them to speak to the consultant. If you wan tto post your nearest large town I'll try and find a name - but I'll probably be too busy tomorrow.

It isn't the first time I've heard of that sort of response, unfortunatley, but they did get a referral from another gp in the practise.

Although money is important to gps sometimes its just that they've never had any decent training.

Thanks tatt, that's a good idea. Will look into that today so that when we go back, at least we know who we should be referred to!

Good to hear that someone else had more luck with a different GP.

My sons reactions have been very similair to yours. My GP's reaction also was very similair. Using the argument that 'he won't be allergic to eggs because you are still breastfeeding him'. 15 minutes of me refusing to leave his surgery and repeating myself over and over again about which reactions he had had to what was met with the response 'well Mrs MCAB I can see that you are determined about this so I will make the referal but I find it HIGHLY unlikely that they will find anything. In the meantime I suggest you keep giving master MCAB things with egg in every so often and see if he gets used to it' (in the absence of a 'you moron' smiley) I ignored his parting advice and what do you know Consulant paed took everything I told him very seriously and perscribed piriton for reactions with epipens as a just in case because each time the reaction had got worse. How much did I want to go back to that GP and say 'excuse me but you owe me an apology'. Maybe I will wait for the skin prick test results. Push for it, don't tell him you want to be referred for allergy testing, tell him you have concerns about you son having allergies and want to be referred to the relevant consultant at the hospital. If he still argues tell him that you are going to speak to the practice manager and ask to see a different GP within the practice.

mychildrenarebarmy, thanks for your post. I am glad you got somewhere with your GP, it is so frustrating as a parent to know what your child needs and to have to try and convince someone else of it.

TBH, although he would still be wrong, I think I would have found the GP's reaction less annoying if he just felt that it wasn't necessary but for him to be totally unaware of the availability of allergy testing

How do you even begin to argue with such ignorance?!

Hope you don't mind me asking, but how long have you had to wait for the skin prick tests and how long for your results? Good luck with them.

We have been seeing the consultant at the hospital for about 18 months now. When it was just the egg allergy that was apparant he was going to wait until DS turns 4 to do the tests. The reason he gave was that it was obvious that there was an allergy based on the information I had given him (a great relief after the ignorance of my GP). When it became apparant that sheeps milk was also a problem he said he'd bring it forward to when he turns 3. Now that even more things have come up he has said that he would bring it forward to now, partly because of the known latex one and partly because of the unknown causes on other occasions. I don't know what will happen about results but I will come back and let you know.

DS consultant basically said to start with that because he might grow out of it as he gets older AND the information I gave him left him in no doubts about it being an allergy he would wait to do the testing. He then said he was bringing it forwards because the addition of other allergies made it less likely to be something he would grow out of.

sporadicname - we are back from the tests now so just come back to let you know that the results show up while you are there. We are going back next week as there were too many things to test all at once. Of no suprise to me the whole egg, egg yolk and egg white all came up but we also had house dust mite come up too. Oh poo - there goes my lax attitude to cleaning!