Intradermal skin testing

[powerofprayer]

Has anyone ever done the intradermal skin testing for allergies? It seems that it was here I read about it. I'm just wondering how uncomfortable/painful it is. Our pediatrician (I really LIKE her......she is open to some of the more alternative testing even though she admits this is out of her realm of knowledge)

thinks it wouldn't hurt to send my 4 yo to an allergist. All of the allergists in town tend to do the intradermal testing. My daughter HATES ALL drs and procedures. Is this a test that could give me insight or is the IgG one better? I also have to weigh in cost........this intradermal will be covered by myinsurance but I doubt the IgG would. Any input would be appreciated!!

Thanks, Nadine

[Guest]

Hi Nadine,

 

I've had skin testing done for allergies. It's not the type that a local allergist performs, but instead is administered by an environmental physician. The allergy testing and treatment type is Optimal Dose Immunotherapy. When being poked by the needles it does hurt. After a while I got used to it though. I think it's really important to find a really good nurse to do the testing for your daughter (one that works well with your daughter including her fears and one that your daughter also likes). Having a great nurse that worked well with me made a huge difference during my testing. I hated needles too, and I still prefer to give my own shots rather than having a nurse give them to me.

 

Whether skin testing or a blood test for IgG is better for your daughter just depends on her. Many have had found several IgG's by doing the blood testing. For myself, I have found the IgG to be not that helpful. I show many more allergies by skin testing. The last IgG test was helpful for me because I found out that coconuts was causing me to break out badly on my face. Other than that, not to helpful in my case.

 

Carolyn

[Andy]

Has anyone ever done the intradermal skin testing for allergies?

 

One it is my view point that there is more then one cause for TS and people react differently to different treatments just like there is more then one cause of cancer, etc.. The trick is finding what works best for you or for your child, it can be an expensive and time consuming task and one that is never as clear as we hope it to be. With that said,

 

My kid had over 300 things tested for, if I remember correctly, with his skin prick test. The basically pricked him in locations of his back to see if he will have a rash reaction which would indicated an allergy. We did to elimate possible causes of the tics, etc. He did not complain about any pain during the procedure but I bought him comic books to read as if was being done and he has proven time and time again that a sweet heart boy can be the toughest in the room. It was expensive either 300 or 500 dollars, I remember for we did it at the begining of a new insurance year and it took up the entire deductable at that time. We were glad we did it even if nothing was found for it gave us peace of mind in other areas,like should we move to a different part of the country, to canada, etc....if something was in the air.

He tested for no overt allergies but has tested thru the blood testing for delayed food allegies which means basically someone can eat bread next to him and he can touch it but he can not eat it for his body is either not digesting it properly or he has holes in intestinal tract and it is seeping into his body not fully digested.

 

He has been tested for having yeast and fungus infections in his intestinal tract by Dr. Walsh's lab a couple of times over the years.

[faith]

Nadine,

I don't know much about the intradermal testing, is that for food allergies or environmental? I can tell you my son had the Igg type testing by blood, and it has seemed to be beneficial in that removing foods he tested highly sensitive to seems to have had a positive effect (not 100%, but definitely better). In my opinion, I would recommend that to anyone considering it, if only to provide some direction when you can't seem to find any in other ways. I was desperate for some answers, so at that point, I didn't care how much it cost.

 

Also, we did do environmental testing where he had minute injections of the allergens (probably about 20). He was 7 and handled it pretty well. It did hurt to be injected so many times, but as Carolyn points out, the nurse was really good with him. He did cry a little, but he knew we had to do it. I would just find out a little more on the accuracy rate and benefits, and then weigh your decision.

 

Good luck

Faith

[powerofprayer]

Carolyn, Andy, and Faith

 

thank you for your replies. You've given me alot to think about. I DO need to find out how accurate these results are before I put her through this. I wonder if they would consider sedating her a bit. I mean she SCREAMS bloody murder with needles. When i took her for the strep titer blood test, it was awful. Thank God that one was quick. From what i understand with the skin testing though, it can take a while.....like 30-40 minutes. I'm not sure if they test for food allergies, but for sure they do inhalants. Faith, where did you go for the IgG blood testing? Was it the alcat or one of the others discussed on this forum?

Like Andy said, I am considering this just to start ruling out (or confirming) causes for the tics. I suspected allergies to something in the air, and today she had a REALLY BAD episode, probably her worst ever. Her blinking/clenching/grinding teeth was SOOOOO intense, it absolutely broke my heart. she even whined a little about it hurting her which hurt me even more. I gave her Benadryl thinking that if it was allergy related, it would provide some relief. But i think it may have even gotten worse......defintiely NOT better though. Now i don't know what to think. I've looked at her food journal for the last few days and i don't see anything suspect in there. Well maybe a bit of "blue" juice she had at church but it was such a tiny bit that i wouldn't think the reaction would be so huge and so prolonged.

Anyway, I'm babbling......thank you for listening!

[Tattoomom]

Hi Nadine.

 

My son had the skin allergy testing done a few months ago. To see if your skin is reacting the way it's supposed to, the nurse first scratched his arm with Histamine. In almost everyone, this substance causes a skin response. So it's used as a positive control.

 

Then they had him lay flat on his stomach and marked his back with a marker. Then beside each mark, the skin is then pricked (it looked like she poked and twisted) using a small disposable pricking device and a small amount of the allergen extract can enter into the outer layer of the skin. It looked painful and he did cry, but there was no bleeding. It tested for environmental allergies (molds, animals, trees, grass, pollens, etc...)

 

After the scratching, he had to lay still for 15 minutes. They are looking to see if the skin will welt up, itch, etc...

 

He did not have any positive results with the skin scratching, nor does he have an IgE allergies at all.

 

But we did the further testing after IgG blood work revealed high IgG's to many foods.

 

I agree with the other's who have said, sometimes you just have to search for what might be the trigger in your child, everyone's different. Process of elimination, I suppose.

 

Tricia