For anyone who has had skin scratch allergy testing...?

When the skin scratch tests are done, is ANY wheal a positive or do they have to be so big? I found one site that said 3 mm up and another that said any reaction at all. When our son had his done at the first allergist, they tested 21 foods and cat(plus the controls). It seemed to me that there were 7 or 8 that were raised about the same and a few that were just tiny and other spots you couldn't even tell he'd been poked. Three were even still quite noticeable several hours later!


Our son was only 7 months old old when this first set was done so we realize that the results may not be entirely accurate, that either he hadn't had enough exposure to an allergen to show a positive reaction and that others his body may just be too immature to handle.


The allergist he was seeing only recorded one positive result besides the control. We have since changed allergists because I was feeling the first was incompetant and I am wondering if we shoudl not ask the new allergist to redo them.

For anyone who has had skin scratch allergy testing...?
From my point of view I would say that yes you should get the test redone with the new allergist that you trust. It is VERY IMPORTANT to know what he is allergic to so that it can be avoided .


However, please know that it tends to be a long process to fully understand allergies and that not everything may show up on either of the tests. I am highly allergic to milk but it doesn't show up on the skin test or the RAST. It was only through trying a small sample in front of the allergist that he was able to fully diagnosis it.





Talk to your allergist and voice your concerns. Be very vocal and ask him EVERY question, even the ones you may think are silly. I would bring up the smaller bumps with the new allergist and get his opinion, he may tell you what everyone else is saying but at least you will have a definite answer. This is your sons life your talking about and you have the responsibility to do everything you can to keep him safe.
Reply:he seem to young to get testing done





I think you can get blood test done, might be easier





then you can do the skin test when he is older
Reply:You are your child's best advocate. Get as many opinions as you feel comfortable with. Don't ever feel bad about that. A mom's gut instinct is sometimes better than any opinion.


My son has a yet to be diagnosed allergy. Our physicians have told us that unfortunately testing can be limited sometimes and one of the best ways to figure this out is trial and error, keeping a diary of foods and exposures and then eliminating and re-intoducing things one at a time with at least 48 hours in between starting new foods/other exposures. Good luck.