Allergy Test & Follow-Ups - your experience

DD had her 12mth needles today and we agreed to do the allergy testing... i knew it was going to happen but she had a reaction to one of them. :doh:
I will get the results as to which product in 1-2wks, then we get a FREE follow-up with an allergy specialist... glad it's free, if we did it ourselves and got a Dr's referral would have cost over $300... CRAZY
I am assuming it's egg as she seemed to have a reaction last week.. :crossfingers:

Ok so what i want to know is who else has been through this, how long did it take for results and what should i ask at the specialist, are there certain things i should know before going?

Chances are we wont get in until Jan/Feb (great #2 will be here then.. fun fun fun) and it's about 4hrs at the Royal Childrens putting her through tests... poor girl.

So NO NEW FOODS for Ava until possibly Jan/Feb, she eats a wide range of things but she wont get the joys of peanut butter or nuttela just yet!

So glad we found out now...

Thanks in advance everyone!

4hrs sounds like a long time for testing. I think our whole specialist appointment was probably an hour, tops.
DD wasn't phased by her testing at all, btw.

Thanks ladies, Ava HATED the pr!cktest today probably more than her needles, hers was done on her back.. poor little girl!

She had a reaction bigger than the control so thats the reason we are going for more tests :doh:

They said it can take up to 4 hrs as they do the pr!ck tests aswell as food testing where they get her to eat something and see what happens, and they give her more and more to see if the allergy is also with cooked foods etc... well thats what they said.

My poor little girl, first eczema, possibly asthma (not yet diagnosed but often has a weird sound at night kinda like the hyperventilation noise they make when they cry too long or loud) and now allergies... HMMM stupid genetics.

Thanks again, anything else i should be asking or watching for at the appt would be greatly appreciated.

Only thing I can think of (and they'll probably give you anyway) is if an Epipen is needed. Then you should make sure they give you a letter that you take with you if you ever travel on a plane that allows the epipen on board with you.

Also, there are lots of medical alert bracelets available, but I only found one small enough to fit my DD (then at 1yr, but even now at 2.5) They are silicone and you get them printed with whatever you want. I think the minimum number you can order is 10 but I wasted money on an engraved plate one and these are much better for a child IMO. If you need any, PM and I will try and find the details for you.

Good luck, hope none of the above is necessary for you.

Thanks so much, hopefully there are no SEVERE allergies but if she does have an egg allergy i think a bracelet could still be good for when she's older and goes to kinder or childcare etc.
Just so they don't give her quiche etc. She seems ok with egg MIXED with things but the cooked egg on it's own she came out in rash/hives when i gave it to her so i am assuming it's the egg... well hopefully we find out next week then go to the hosp appt... hmm

DD1 had her allergy tests done at the RCH when she was 2.5 after eating peanuts and having a reaction.

Basically the drill is they will do an interview with you about the foods that she has had and what she has had a reaction to. Then they will send you downstairs for the pr!ck tests and they will do a whole lot on her back and measure them against the control. When they find out what she is allergic to they will do an allergy management plan and if required give you an epi-pen.

The waiting list for the RCH is generally about 10 months but as DD1 was a peanut allergy and we were heading off to Thailand 2 weeks after she had the reaction we got seen straight away.

They did a follow up appointment with her after 18 months so we had that done last week and found that her peanut allergy was worse and that she is also allergic to brazil nuts :( However her egg allergy is gone. She will be re-tested again in 12 months before she starts primary school.

Ok so the Allergist Appt is tomorrow and stupid me thought it was Wednesday, MIL doesn't work wednesday so she was going to come with me so if i needed to feed DD2 she could still be with DD1 while she was getting tested etc. :wall:

I know i can manage as DD2 pretty much feeds 3-4hrly so should only require 1 feed while we are there, what should i expect though?

They have said they will do the skin ***** tests 1st (i know about this and she HATED it at her 12mth needles) then they are doing controlled tests of the egg by feeding it to her, if at this stage i needed to feed DD2 there would be no issues me doing it in the room but THEM feeding DD1? I can put DD2 in the baby carrier and maybe try feeding her standing with DD1.

I feel so sorry for my poor little girl, she's going to be *****ed and fed and watched like a hawk. It makes me feel sick.

Well wish us luck, especially my poor lil girl!

4-5hrs in a hosp with a toddler and an newborn... i'm nuts!

Just wanted to say goodluck! I have to take my 3yo for allergy testing with a specialist so I am curious to see what happens for you.

Zarava - GL today! Meant to reply to this thread yonkies ago.

When we did the testing at RCH (when DS was 9m.o.) we didn't do the food testing, just the skin pr!ck testing and were told to totally avoid the foods he reacted to (eggs & treenuts). And yes, he was pretty unhappy once the welts came up on his back :(. At the time he'd only had skin reactions (all-over hives) and they told us that they couldn't say what reaction he might get, whether it would be skin, gut or anaphylactic - but they wouldn't give us an epi-pen either. I gather that they only give an epi-pen if there's been evidence of anaphylaxis. I don't know if we'll be doing the food challenge too now that he's older. We were advised to avoid all the foods and come back for re-testing (we go on Friday). Oh and they also gave us the allergy management plan form which is required if A goes to childcare at all.

Oh and X used to always make funny noises when breathing and since stopping the allergy foods (which he only got through EBM) his breathing and skin improved massively. So it was a really worthwhile process.

GL today, I hope it's manageable with your 2 little munchkins and that you get some answers :hug: (and yes, our first appointment was 4 hours with no food testing - but we had a wait of 1hr 30 mins before we were even seen!!! :wall::wall::wall:). I would ensure that when you get to reception that they know you are juggling 2 little ones.

Thanks Belfie... good luck with X's appt.

We are doing the food challenge today, the appt is at 1 and i can't give A lunch because they want her hungry :o
I hope were not waiting too long, i will def be letting them know i have 2 girls there, as it is it says 4hrs for the testing plus 1hr afterwards to wait and make sure no further reactions.. thats 5 hours at the hospital which means i wouldn't be leaving til 6pm!

Oh well :crossfingers: both girls behave, wish us luck.

Well we made it through yesterday, my poor little girl.

She had the skin ***** tests done again and they tested about 12 different things and she SCREAMED when they did it, my poor munchkin.

She came up clear, didn't even react to the skin ***** test this time, how odd.. maybe she outgrew it?

I have to give her egg white with her yoghurt etc for another 5 days just to make sure no reaction occurs, so heres hoping :crossfingers:

Zara was pretty good, she fed and slept most of the time but did want to be cuddled but that ladies at the RCH wee more than happy to run around after Ava.

The poor girl LOVES being outside and is NOT a fan of confined spaces so she spent most of her time trying to escape up hallways, hiding under desks etc, she kept us all entertained to say the least.
She had to have a blood test as we left and the poor girl SCREAMED again, her 1st ever blood test and Zara was screaming for a feed but we managed... I managed. god knows how.

Thanks so much EVERYONE for all your advice and reassurance, i guess i just have to be careful and see how she goes from here on in.