TTMA: Infant Allergist

[rachydc]

To no ones surprise, my severe eczema ridden baby now has a possible peanut allergy and we were referred straight to an allergist. I'm so mf tired of specialist appointments for this kid.  It's physically and mentally exhausting.

His pedi wanted us trying peanut butter before his 6 month appointment. We tried and while he had no breathing trouble or major swelling, he developed hives and a rash all over his face almost immediately. 

So, TTMA about Infant allergists and what to expect at my first appointment. They said it would take about 2 hours. I had allergy testing when I was younger and I remember the pricks in my back. Do they do it on the back for infants as well? 

[sarahandben108]

grumpycat Can you give any advice?

[marsinvestigations]

DS1 was a bit older when he had testing done, I think 1.5. They did the testing on his arms. They had this contraption where they were able to do all of the pricks at one time. He was upset for a minute but then forgot about it til the next set. It did take about two hours. Most of it spent waiting between testing. After the testing, we met with the allergist again to go over results and treatment plan.

DS1 didn’t end up having any food allergies though, just environmental and seasonal (which they told me wasn’t possible before the testing, because of his age, but after were like “oh, I guess you were right, he does”)

[grumpycat]

I just went through this with my 6 month old. He has severe eczema so we got a referral from the pediatrician for the pediatric allergist. The appointment at the pediatric allergist was closer to 3.5 hours. She did several skin tests (5 of the top 8 allergens) on his back. Peanut came back so we were told to do a food challenge with peanut butter at the local children's hospital.

He broke out in hives/red rash all over his face on the first bit. They waited until it calmed down and gave him the second bit, more hives, red rash on his face/torso and he threw up. So he is considered allergic and we have epipens.

[grumpycat]

The allergist also helped us figure out a plan for his eczema. Wet wrapping, steroid creams, daily bath, etc. It was a long appointment and I remember wishing dh was with me. So prepare for longer than 2 hours and hopefully it will only be 2. Yes to skin tests on the back. Since your DS reacted to peanuts, they may rule him allergic (I'm surprised they told you to do the food challenge at home, but glad he didn't have a further reaction) without doing the skin test for peanuts. Skin tests can provide false positives, which is why they do so many food challenges now.

[rachydc]

grumpycat ,Lordy! That is a lot. Your posts are super relevant and helpful (our boys are only a few days a part ) ! Thanks so much for sharing. I didn't think anything of the peanut butter experiment at home until he had the reaction, then I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off saying "WHY WOULD THEY LET ME DO THIS?!" I definitely went into it too breezy. It sounds like our journey may be very similar to yours

[gimmeaQ]

Hi - We did this

At mine, they did do the pricks/scratches on his back. He didn't love it, but it wasn't a big deal and I was able to just hold him while she was doing it. If they are telling you to expect a two-hour test, they might also have him try ingesting something with peanuts in the controlled (i.e. safe) environment.

We were also given a script for blood work (which was horrific with a young child) but that just tested for a broader range. Also got an epi there and some epi training

[Betweenthelines]

DS had a bad reaction right around 6 months. Full on hives, rash, eyes swelled, tongue/throat itchy after he got a piece of DD's waffle that she dropped to the floor. I panicked and administered benadryl immediately and called 911. Once discharged, we were told to see an allergist ASAP. They did the skin/prick test on his back of 8 or 12 different allergens. I can't remember exactly how many, but wheat came back with a clear reaction. We were then sent to get blood work done to find out to what extent the severity was and obviously had to stop giving him wheat at that point. He was also given an epi-pen.

He was re-tested after 6 months (1yo) by another blood draw. The allergist stated that it's common to grow out of allergies by a year old, and thankfully DS did. We were able to slowly reintroduce wheat at that point.

[requiressnacks]

Allergy mom over here! My son had a peanut allergy when we first gave him a taste at 6 months. Like others have said, our did a skin test for a variety of things. We ended up testing for raw and cooked eggs, a variety of nuts and peanuts, of course. He ended up being allergic to almonds, peanuts and raw eggs. It wasn't a skin prick though, it was just oils on skin, if I recall correctly. Then we sat there for 15 minutes while he had a reaction. And they came back and measured those reactions.

We did an epi pen demo and we left with a script for an epi pen. No blood work though. We go back every 6 months and repeat, although the nuts are every year. This past time he was 50% allergic to raw eggs, so we are hopeful he's growing out of that.

There's also an epi pen alternative now that is free. I forget what its called, but definitely ask. My epi pens (one for daycare, one for home) cost us $750. YIKES. And they only last a year.

[kellykapow]

DS had severe eczema (itchy, oozing, bleeding) and would breakout in a rash randomly after eating pretty much anything, so I took him to an allergist when he was about 7 months. They did the scratch test on his back and ordered blood work. Turns out he was allergic to egg yolks and whites. We cut eggs out of both of our diets, and it went away. We were eventually able to start giving him eggs again and now at 3 he’s completely outgrown it. I know it’s not always the case, but it was for us

[rachydc]

Apr 26, 2018 8:24:31 GMT -6 Betweenthelines said:

DS had a bad reaction right around 6 months. Full on hives, rash, eyes swelled, tongue/throat itchy after he got a piece of DD's waffle that she dropped to the floor. I panicked and administered benadryl immediately and called 911. Once discharged, we were told to see an allergist ASAP. They did the skin/prick test on his back of 8 or 12 different allergens. I can't remember exactly how many, but wheat came back with a clear reaction. We were then sent to get blood work done to find out to what extent the severity was and obviously had to stop giving him wheat at that point. He was also given an epi-pen.

He was re-tested after 6 months (1yo) by another blood draw. The allergist stated that it's common to grow out of allergies by a year old, and thankfully DS did. We were able to slowly reintroduce wheat at that point.

I'm sorry you had to go through all that scariness!! DS was seriously 3 days shy of 6 mos and they pedi said not to give him benadryl. I was very "WTF?????"

The last part gives me hope! Although Google tells me most kids don't out grow peanut allergies. Fingers still crossed haha. 

[rachydc]

Apr 26, 2018 8:31:53 GMT -6 requiressnacks said:

Allergy mom over here! My son had a peanut allergy when we first gave him a taste at 6 months. Like others have said, our did a skin test for a variety of things. We ended up testing for raw and cooked eggs, a variety of nuts and peanuts, of course. He ended up being allergic to almonds, peanuts and raw eggs. It wasn't a skin prick though, it was just oils on skin, if I recall correctly. Then we sat there for 15 minutes while he had a reaction. And they came back and measured those reactions.

We did an epi pen demo and we left with a script for an epi pen. No blood work though. We go back every 6 months and repeat, although the nuts are every year. This past time he was 50% allergic to raw eggs, so we are hopeful he's growing out of that.

There's also an epi pen alternative now that is free. I forget what its called, but definitely ask. My epi pens (one for daycare, one for home) cost us $750. YIKES. And they only last a year.

I'm extra (but I guess you have to be with allergies?) and have already been dreading the epi pen costs!! Im glad to know there is a free or cheap one available, I will be asking for it. I remember hearing rumblings of a free epi a year or two ago, but didnt read an update. I didn't even consider keeping one at daycare, even though it's a no-brainer. Wow.

Glad your DS is slowly but surely growing out of his allergy!

[rachydc]

Apr 26, 2018 8:32:28 GMT -6 kellykapow said:

DS had severe eczema (itchy, oozing, bleeding) and would breakout in a rash randomly after eating pretty much anything, so I took him to an allergist when he was about 7 months. They did the scratch test on his back and ordered blood work. Turns out he was allergic to egg yolks and whites. We cut eggs out of both of our diets, and it went away. We were eventually able to start giving him eggs again and now at 3 he’s completely outgrown it. I know it’s not always the case, but it was for us

My friends daughter was exactly like this and has outgrown the allergy (Shes 4). So that gives me hope! I'm like 80% sure he'll test positive for an egg allergy bc I may have a slight one. It was never diagnosed, but I always feel so sick and nauseous after eating scrambled eggs, egg whites im okay with. 

[rachydc]

I haven't done research on this, but I thought I heard or read somewhere that some vaccines have allergens in them? Is this true?

Or did I read some crazy blog that blamed vaccines for allergies? IDK. lol. We dont need to open up this can of worms by the way, I'm pro-vax. Just thinking out loud.

[Betweenthelines]

rachydc, who knows, maybe my ped would've said the same about the benadryl, but it was never on the radar and I never brought up to the ped. I just always kept it on hand since my kids ate all table food from 5-6 months on and I knew there was always that possibility. When I saw him having that reaction though, my initial thought was if he didn't get something to try and stop the reaction, he could stop breathing before the ambulance got there. So, it helped us. DS was also just shy of 6 months.

I'm not familiar with peanut allergies, but food allergies in general can be so scary. I hope he isn't allergic to it.

[rachydc]

Betweenthelines,If I had any on hand (which, lesson learned) I would have given it to him. I had the same reaction you did. He needed something and I had nothing to give. I felt very hopeless.

[grumpycat]

Apr 26, 2018 8:31:53 GMT -6 requiressnacks said:

Allergy mom over here! My son had a peanut allergy when we first gave him a taste at 6 months. Like others have said, our did a skin test for a variety of things. We ended up testing for raw and cooked eggs, a variety of nuts and peanuts, of course. He ended up being allergic to almonds, peanuts and raw eggs. It wasn't a skin prick though, it was just oils on skin, if I recall correctly. Then we sat there for 15 minutes while he had a reaction. And they came back and measured those reactions.

We did an epi pen demo and we left with a script for an epi pen. No blood work though. We go back every 6 months and repeat, although the nuts are every year. This past time he was 50% allergic to raw eggs, so we are hopeful he's growing out of that.

There's also an epi pen alternative now that is free. I forget what its called, but definitely ask. My epi pens (one for daycare, one for home) cost us $750. YIKES. And they only last a year.

Auvi Q is the epipen alternative. I've heard great things about it. It talks you through using it, the needle isn't as big, and you don't have to hold it as long. They are just coming out with a "junior" version this year so it wasn't available for us yet. Fx it is soon!

[notexactly]

Allergy mom here, too. My son had severe eczema as well. Like itching, bleeding and cracking skin. We got him tested when he was 7.5 months old. The allergist did a skin prick test and then a blood test. It took about 3 hours for us total with the lab work. My son is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat and soy. He recently outgrew soy in December and we've been having it with no issues. I keep saying "we" because as a nursing mom, I have to avoid the same foods. Eliminating all of them took care of eczema for us. His skin is perfectly clear now. We actually have another appointment today to get more testing done. I'm hopeful he outgrew some more since all the levels went down at the last check.

It's quite overwhelming at first, especially the Epipen part (for me), but it will get easier!

[grumpycat]

Apr 26, 2018 8:45:26 GMT -6 rachydc said:

Betweenthelines,If I had any on hand (which, lesson learned) I would have given it to him. I had the same reaction you did. He needed something and I had nothing to give. I felt very hopeless.

Also part of the appointment, if he's allergic, will be putting together an allergy action plan. You'll provide a copy to daycare and have one for yourself. It just states what to do if he has a reaction. Ours is to administer children's zyrtec and do the epipen if it's a two system reaction.

Foodallergy.org has a lot of great information and resources.

[notexactly]

Apr 26, 2018 8:40:35 GMT -6 rachydc said:

I haven't done research on this, but I thought I heard or read somewhere that some vaccines have allergens in them? Is this true?

Or did I read some crazy blog that blamed vaccines for allergies? IDK. lol. We dont need to open up this can of worms by the way, I'm pro-vax. Just thinking out loud.

Some vaccines contain egg protein in them, but very minimal amounts like the MMR and the flu vaccine. When my son got his flu vaccine, the nurses just had to observe him for a reaction for 30 mins. Some people do longer if the allergy is more severe.

[notexactly]

Epipens are expensive as hell! But CVS has the generic one called Impax and it's usually at $109 or so, and they give you a 50% off coupon. At least that is what they offered me here. So just throwing that out there for you to ask about.

[kellykapow]

Apr 26, 2018 8:40:35 GMT -6 rachydc said:

I haven't done research on this, but I thought I heard or read somewhere that some vaccines have allergens in them? Is this true?

Or did I read some crazy blog that blamed vaccines for allergies? IDK. lol. We dont need to open up this can of worms by the way, I'm pro-vax. Just thinking out loud.

Our allergist told us that some have egg protein in them (I think the flu shot), and I believe she said we could get egg free vaccines at her office if we were concerned about a reaction (which she said was unlikely).

[lifesaverz]

Ours wanted us to do a food diary, & both kids were tested after the first appointment. Our allergist did blood test rather than a skin test because of the eczema, so as not to irritate the skin further. If your allergist doesn’t already recommend this then I would request it since your little has eczema. We did a full panel of testing with the blood test & it was really helpful.

[Betweenthelines]

IIRC dc2london's DS has a nut allergy.

[dc2london]

When we had S2 tested at 6 months, they did it on his hand. He actually handled it better than S1 who was 3 (Probably bc I was holding him and distracting him, whereas they wouldn't let me hold S1).

The actual testing is fairly quick. They scratch, you wait 20 minute, and they compare the area to a control scratch of just histamine. Any welt that develops and is larger or redder than the control is considered indicative of an allergy. They will sometimes corroborate with a blood test.

S1's peanut allergy didn't show up on scratch tests until he was 4. S2's showed up at age 1 but his blood test also revealed allergies to several tree nuts that hadn't been apparent from the scratch test.
I say that only to caution you that the tests aren't totally reliable until about age 2.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this, but I will tell you, being an allergy parent isn't always as overwhelming as it seems at first. You quickly learn which products are safe and which aren't--you won't always be label reading for an hour in the aisles. Hugs!!

[requiressnacks]

Apr 26, 2018 8:46:07 GMT -6 grumpycat said:

Apr 26, 2018 8:31:53 GMT -6 requiressnacks said:

Allergy mom over here! My son had a peanut allergy when we first gave him a taste at 6 months. Like others have said, our did a skin test for a variety of things. We ended up testing for raw and cooked eggs, a variety of nuts and peanuts, of course. He ended up being allergic to almonds, peanuts and raw eggs. It wasn't a skin prick though, it was just oils on skin, if I recall correctly. Then we sat there for 15 minutes while he had a reaction. And they came back and measured those reactions.

We did an epi pen demo and we left with a script for an epi pen. No blood work though. We go back every 6 months and repeat, although the nuts are every year. This past time he was 50% allergic to raw eggs, so we are hopeful he's growing out of that.

There's also an epi pen alternative now that is free. I forget what its called, but definitely ask. My epi pens (one for daycare, one for home) cost us $750. YIKES. And they only last a year.

Auvi Q is the epipen alternative. I've heard great things about it. It talks you through using it, the needle isn't as big, and you don't have to hold it as long. They are just coming out with a "junior" version this year so it wasn't available for us yet. Fx it is soon!

Yes - Auvi q  is what it's called! We got two this year completely free. Score!

[quinn]

Apr 26, 2018 8:09:30 GMT -6 gimmeaQ said:

Hi - We did this

At mine, they did do the pricks/scratches on his back. He didn't love it, but it wasn't a big deal and I was able to just hold him while she was doing it. If they are telling you to expect a two-hour test, they might also have him try ingesting something with peanuts in the controlled (i.e. safe) environment.

We were also given a script for blood work (which was horrific with a young child) but that just tested for a broader range. Also got an epi there and some epi training

this is pretty much the exact experience we had.

I gave ds3 peanut butter at home and he had a bad reaction which we rushed him to the er for. From there, they referred us to the allergist.

He gets yearly skins tests and blood draws to check on the progression of the allergy. The skin pricks are NBD. The blood draws are a bit hard since they draw so much and we have to hold him down. But, in the end, it could be so much worse.

According to our allergist, if he is only allergic to peanuts, and nothing else, there is a 20% chance he could grow out of if.

GL!

[mintyblueair]

My son (22 months) had allergy testing after he developed hives and swelling from peanut butter and eggs at 6 months. He was found then to be allergic to peanuts and eggs. He had follow-up testing last November that showed he's allergic to peanuts, cashews, pistachios, and eggs.

Both tests were skin pricks and they were no problem for him. We saw two different allergists for the tests and neither one recommended blood testing at this point. He'll have testing every six months for a little while.

His first test was done in a bigger city and if we had stayed there we would have enrolled him in a research study introducing tiny amounts of peanut over time to see if the allergy could disappear with exposure. I'm pretty sure he'll outgrow the egg one because he can eat things like cake and pancakes with eggs baked in them, but the nut one is much less likely to change over time. We have two EpiPens at all times just in case.

[bsouls]

DD1 had a reaction to peanut butter when she was 9 months old. Her PMD ordered the blood work and referred to the allergist. They did the scratch test on her back and it’s been on her back the last three years. She had eczema and we were advised how to treat it at the appointment - we also discuss it at the annual retest.

We have a generic epipen that was free.

DD2 just had a scratch test at 6 months because the allergist recommended it before trying peanut butter. They did it on her back. She slept through it on my shoulder. She does not have allergies and does not have eczema.

[cribs]

Apr 26, 2018 13:19:34 GMT -6 quinn said:

Apr 26, 2018 8:09:30 GMT -6 gimmeaQ said:

Hi - We did this

At mine, they did do the pricks/scratches on his back. He didn't love it, but it wasn't a big deal and I was able to just hold him while she was doing it. If they are telling you to expect a two-hour test, they might also have him try ingesting something with peanuts in the controlled (i.e. safe) environment.

We were also given a script for blood work (which was horrific with a young child) but that just tested for a broader range. Also got an epi there and some epi training

this is pretty much the exact experience we had.

I gave ds3 peanut butter at home and he had a bad reaction which we rushed him to the er for. From there, they referred us to the allergist.

He gets yearly skins tests and blood draws to check on the progression of the allergy. The skin pricks are NBD. The blood draws are a bit hard since they draw so much and we have to hold him down. But, in the end, it could be so much worse.

According to our allergist, if he is only allergic to peanuts, and nothing else, there is a 20% chance he could grow out of if.

GL!

I want to know where you go the allergist. I know we don't go to the same location but I'm wondering if we go to the same doctor.

Basically I'm creepy