Many children are wrongly diagnosed with food allergies because of inaccurate tests (food allergy, skin)
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"Common skin-prick tests, in which a person is scratched by a needle coated with proteins from a suspect food, produce signs of irritation 50 to 60 percent of the time even when the person is not actually allergic. 'When you apply the wrong test, as was the case here, you end up with false positives,' says Bird, who co-authored a paper describing the Dallas case in 2013 in the journal Pediatrics. And you end up with a lot of people scared to eat foods that would do them no harm. Bird has said that he and a team of researchers found that 112 of 126 children who were diagnosed with multiple food allergies tolerated at least one of the foods they were cautioned might kill them."
"Common skin-prick tests, in which a person is scratched by a needle coated with proteins from a suspect food, produce signs of irritation 50 to 60 percent of the time even when the person is not actually allergic. 'When you apply the wrong test, as was the case here, you end up with false positives,' says Bird, who co-authored a paper describing the Dallas case in 2013 in the journal Pediatrics. And you end up with a lot of people scared to eat foods that would do them no harm. Bird has said that he and a team of researchers found that 112 of 126 children who were diagnosed with multiple food allergies tolerated at least one of the foods they were cautioned might kill them."
Hi
Interesting...thanks for the info.
We have had only blood work done on our son...who does have food allergies and does food drops as immunothology treatment.
"Common skin-prick tests, in which a person is scratched by a needle coated with proteins from a suspect food, produce signs of irritation 50 to 60 percent of the time even when the person is not actually allergic. 'When you apply the wrong test, as was the case here, you end up with false positives,' says Bird, who co-authored a paper describing the Dallas case in 2013 in the journal Pediatrics. And you end up with a lot of people scared to eat foods that would do them no harm. Bird has said that he and a team of researchers found that 112 of 126 children who were diagnosed with multiple food allergies tolerated at least one of the foods they were cautioned might kill them."
It is more complicated than that. Kids need to get an environmental skin prick test because many trees indicate the potential for an allergy to a specific food. It doesn't mean they will have an allergy but the likelihood is increased, such as the case with my son. A blood test AND skin prick test should be used together to determine if there is reason to believe it is a food allergy or intolerance. A Uknow test for Peanuts is extremely accurate and my there is no way my son will be a candidate for the desensitization that is popular now. So sad.
I'm no kid but I wouldn't trust a needle scratch test either. When I was very sick and couldn't figure out what was wrong, I finally was given a blood test. That's the test that showed the food allergies. Later another doctor used a test in which they inject you with a tiny bit of the allergen and measure the size of the resulting welt with a ruler. It can take hours. The testing can actually reproduce your symptoms--like headache or, in my case, actually falling over in the chair. They don't tell you what you're being tested for so it's not a matter of having it in your mind that you are allergic. The technician will quickly neutralize the dosage and you'll feel fine again. But that's a lot of work so 99% of allergists don't bother with it. I got the same results as I got with the blood test, same food allergies. I could have taken drops for foods but I chose to just avoid those foods.
One time I did get the simple needle scratch test and it didn't show anything! I think those tests are just about useless, just quick and convenient, that's all. With me, it showed nothing; it's so inaccurate that I can believe that with other people it would show false positives.
People need to take the time and go to a really good allergist. I think the test where I could have gotten food drops was called provocation neutralization. There are similar modes of testing available now.
A lot of drs probably don't use it because it's too much trouble and too time consuming but it saved my life. When you have multiple food allergies and can't eat=big trouble.
People need to take the time and go to a really good allergist. I think the test where I could have gotten food drops was called provocation neutralization. There are similar modes of testing available now.
A lot of drs probably don't use it because it's too much trouble and too time consuming but it saved my life. When you have multiple food allergies and can't eat=big trouble.
The reason doctors don't give it is because it's an unsafe unproven treatment that is not approved by the FDA, the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). It is not covered by CMS (Medicare, Medicaid) nor private insurance as a result. Giving people drops or orally desensitizing people to food they are allergic to can be life threatening and cause anaphylaxis.
The reason doctors don't give it is because it's an unsafe unproven treatment that is not approved by the FDA, the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). It is not covered by CMS (Medicare, Medicaid) nor private insurance as a result. Giving people drops or orally desensitizing people to food they are allergic to can be life threatening and cause anaphylaxis.
What? My insurance covered my allergy testing. It was much safer to find the food allergies that were so bad that I was down to only a few foods that I could eat. People need to eat or they will die, you know.
The testing resulted in my total avoidance of many foods that I had no idea I was allergic to and also a change of diet in which I could eat the less allergenic foods every few days. I got better that way and can now eat most foods--with the exception of dairy products. I loved milk, yogurt, and cheese but the tests showed milk protein to be extremely troublesome for me. As soon as I left out the dairy products, the migraines disappeared. It took a few years of never consuming dairy along with using the rotary diet (eating the less allergenic foods about every four days) to really make me feel better.
I also had to get allergy shots for many years for various things like dust, mold, pollens, etc.--I had become very sick and my previous allergist had failed to test me for foods so I got worse and worse, weakened by some many undiagnosed allergies.
Drops for foods would have been covered by insurance too but I chose to simply avoid the foods instead. The dosage of the drops is determined by specific testing so that they are tailor made for each individual. It doesn't seem probable that such a specifically individualized dose could cause a reaction but maybe you know more than my doctors.
It's been known for a long time that skin tests can have false positives, particularly for food allergies. When my daughter was first tested about 15 years ago, the allergist told us about this. That is why my daughter received a blood test for the food she was thought to be most allergic to. We also were told it was unlikely she was allergic to one food item she had a "positive" result for because our daughter had eaten the food without a problem in the past. It is a process to figure out, but all these tests are definitely helpful.
I really have to wonder why doctors do not test for Candida overgrowth. I understand that they do not learn about it in school and that their medical journals seldom if ever discuss it.
I really have to wonder why doctors do not test for Candida overgrowth. I understand that they do not learn about it in school and that their medical journals seldom if ever discuss it.
If you have a complaint that is not listed, you can search for it by name such as "candida and ___________".
Doctors don't test for "candida overgrowth" because it doesn't exist...they don't learn about it in school because it doesn't exist.....Medical journals "seldom discuss it?"....No...Medical journals NEVER discuss it...again...because it doesn't exist
It's a made up condition that only "exists" in the alternative realm
You may be "of the opinion" food allergies are caused by Candida overgrowth but your opinion is wrong...since it doesn't exist..
Doctors don't test for "candida overgrowth" because it doesn't exist...they don't learn about it in school because it doesn't exist.....Medical journals "seldom discuss it?"....No...Medical journals NEVER discuss it...again...because it doesn't exist
It's a made up condition that only "exists" in the alternative realm
You may be "of the opinion" food allergies are caused by Candida overgrowth but your opinion is wrong...since it doesn't exist..
Since you are so wise, maybe you can tell us all what causes food allergies and inhalant allergies.
And where is this "alternative realm"?
So you are saying that humans never have problems with fungus or yeasts.
Well how about that which is called "Leaky Gut Syndrome"?
Which is caused either by some direct injury/irritation or by Candida which has overgrown to the extent that it has developed "roots" or extensions that pierce the gut which allows partially digested food particles to enter the blood stream which are then attacked by the immune system which produces various and frequently multiple effects.
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