Hmmm, curiouser and curiouser, as they say in Alice in Wonderland.

The allergy doctor (actually his nurse) called yesterday w/ results. To refresh, DD had allergy testing, that resulted in her having three panels of bloodwork done at a lab, testing for soy, shellfish and fish. The nurse said that ALL THREE PANELS were NEGATIVE! So while that made DD happy - she can eat seafood to her heart's content - it surprised me and still left me concerned, like - WHY did her lips swell up so quickly in the first place? The nurse said that it continued to perplex the doc, so the doc called the lab back to see if they still had some of her blood , and they did - so the doc asked the lab to run a "pine nut" panel. I told the nurse that she has had peanuts/peanut butter, etc, and never had issues, and he was quick to correct me, that "pine nuts" are different from peanuts. [The doc ordered this b/c he was wondering what else might have been in the tuna pasta salad to trigger it, so I guess he thought pine nuts might have been in there???] So now we will wait to see if that comes back + or -.

The final thing the nurse told me is, they have a good amount of patients that they just CANNOT explain WHY a reaction happened. So I guess he told me that in case we wind up being one of those cases, too.

I'd much rather know that it was "x" that caused her lips to swell, so we could just avoid it. But the not knowing/random occurrence does not give me peace in this, KWIM?

So... that's the update for now.

Suzanne

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

It's tough to not get an answer. My son's K teacher had a severe reaction to something last summer, and has since been testing for everything under the son. Unlucky for her, everything she seems to get tested for she finds out she is deathly allergic to. Peanuts, Apples, and I can't even remember what else.

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If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now, quiet! The're about to announce the lottery numbers... - Homer Simpson

I know so well what you are going through my DS just underwent allergy testing yesterday we have had issues with him coughing , runny nose constantly during the school year and as soon as you take the school out of the equation he is fine, The school is old I went there for Elementary school. They did the scratch tests on his back and he had one extremely positive result and some minor borderlines and then they did 10 more on his arm with the needles and another scratch test for Guinea pigs which yielded a very positive, plus she took some blood work also, Poor kid was bawling his eyes out, he also failed the breathing test which determined his asthma is probably active again, because he cleared up and passed the breathing test once she gave him a shot from the inhaler.

Lo and behold my DS is allergic to horses and Guinea Pigs which were the two major positives he had and nothing for mold like we had hoped because then we could have forced the schools hand to come in and change some things in the the modular classroom he is in. He also had a reaction to cigarette smoke and was told flat out he cannot be around anyone who smokes try telling that to Daddy who refuses to quit and Daddy has Ephysema/COPD and she said even just smoking outside is a trigger because it comes in on his clothes. I gave DH a ultimatum either you quit and make a concerted effort in quitting or you can find somewhere else to live, I have allergies to cigarette smoke also, I have asthma and other issues with my lungs and he just doesnt give a crap about us or himself obviously.

Our allergist told us that kids can have a reaction to something out in the public but not test positive in the office so I understand the frustration. Oddly enough they used to use Horsehair as insulation and I wonder if this school could have used Horsehair back when it was built I am going to see if I can check out the building plans etc to see if it lists anything. My Sister in NH her house was insulated with horsehair and when DS was there in summer 06 for a week he came back really "sick" wheezy and all so now I know why, poor kid wants to be a veterinarian.

I hope you guys can figure this out with your DD

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~ Christine ~
Grammie to Trinity Lorayne Jean Keens Born June 9, 2011 Loving my awesome guitar picking 100% Country Boy boyfriend Kenny !
RIP Daddy~ 01/24/1930-06/01/2007 I miss you !
Dont Think you Can .. know you can ~ Jeff Hardy

Suzanne, are you still here?

I understand from your post whats going on... I dont know the history (the reaction).

First -- lips swelling is bad. Did they talk to you about epi pens?

Second - Lips swelling is bad. Bad enough to avoid all the allergens that was in the food she ate (pasta salad?)

Store bought or home made? if home made could be anything in it.. store bought would have a laebl to start...

Home made - could be any of the top 8, including soy, egg (mayo), dairy, nuts (in pasta salad - I s'pose..)

Listen, Im no doc... Just a parent of a multiple FA child (avoiding 7 of the top 8 foods), for 7+ yrs now.. Im a wealth of knowledge... email me (or post here)

jasontolpin@yahoo.com (im not trying to sell you anything! )

Jason, thanks for your post and your concern. I actually got a call a few days ago from the allergy doc again, this time saying that the pine nut screen was negative as well! The nurse or whoever it was who called just said that it seemed - from the doc's perspective - that we are good to go. He asked me if I had given her any shellfish yet and I said yes, she wanted shrimp last week and I made it for dinner. All seemed well. The nurse again went over the possible things the doc mentioned that he *thought* was in the tuna pasta salad (but the doc thought I got it at a restaurant or grocery store) and it didn't make sense: I was the one who made the salad and I still have the recipe, I know every single ingredient that went into it! No nuts, no eggs, just pasta, tuna, celery, onion, mayo, mustard, dill weed, salt, shredded carrot. That's it.

On the other hand, a friend of mine from MC actually e-mailed me today, about a situation she has w/ her son (same age as my DD). Imagine my shock when she told me today that HER pediatrician reamed her out for getting her DS tested, he said they NEVER want kids under 6-7 to be tested due to the high FALSE NEGATIVE rate! Just great!!! Nobody ever told me that!!! Not even MY ped, he even told me in the summer that she should be tested!!!!

So now what do I do with this info, or lack thereof? Keep watching her like a hawk? (Well I will for sure be doing that.) Keep her away from tuna/fish? Ignore the allergy test results? DD would absolutely LOSE IT if I even MENTIONED the possiblity of her getting retested one day. (Not to mention my irritation and surprise that our insurance only covered a fraction of this, most went towards us meeting our deductible - what kind of BS is that???!? )

I appreciate your reading this long winded post... I always appreciate when anyone responds to my posts! Thanks so much!
Suzanne

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

First, before we begin... what type of mayo? Miracle whip is dairy/egg free IIRC. Most mayos have egg,

Second, was this the only reaction EVER? nothing else? No eczema, no sleeplessness? sleep problems? Mysterious hives, tummy aches, etc...

all can be reactions.

False negatives, false positives happen frequently... Typically:

A rast test: Draw blood, get results in a week... if negative, move on.

A SPT (skin pr!ck test) big ole lego block on back/arm with allergens. If negative, move on.

A in office food challenge (IOFC) - go to office, feed child allergen. If negative, free to eat!

If anything is positive, you stop, and avoid.

That's VERY 'general'.

Do any allergies run in the family? Dogs, cats, foods, pollen? If so, children have a higher rate of having SOME type of allergy (Its genetic, not specific... so mom can be allergic to dogs, dad to cats, and DD#1 to nuts, #2 to milk, or #3 to bees.)

How old is DD? What type of test was it? A SPT or a RAST? If anything else, not entirely reliable (IMO) but could be a good guideline.

Fact: She reacted to SOMETHING. So we need to find out what it was.

jason

Jason, when we went to the allergy doc, they did a "scratch test." It was on her back, tested for, I don't know 20-30 things, maybe? That's the test DD *did not* like. (She said it hurt. ) She got a lot of 4's and 4+'s, mostly for outdoor things. That's when the doc ordered some bloodwork for food things b/c he said when people test positive for outdoor allergens, they will have some false positives for foods. So her ordered 3 (then a 4th - for pine nuts) screens at the lab: soy, shellfish mix, fish mix. All 4 of them came back negative.

As for the mayo, I used either Duke's Light or Hellmann's Light mayo. It was definitely not Miracle Whip.

And as for DD and any other previous reactions... The only other "episode" we had was the day after she had a VCUG to see if she had kidney reflux (which she didn't), a VCUG is where they inject dye to see how it flows through your kidneys to see if it spills back. The day after the test, we were out at Eckerd's and she began getting hives on her legs and arms - literally right in front of my eyes. I took her to the pharmacist and he looked at her, he began asking me questions about recent activities and what she had eaten. When I mentioned her procedure the day before, he said he would suspect it was the dye that she was reacting to (he said it most likely had iodine in it). I told all this to the allergy doc and he looked at that, too, but all that came back negative.

No other family allergies, aside from seasonal ones.

Not much to go on, huh? Thanks for your continued insight, you certainly have the experience and wisdom to help me with this situation!

Suzanne

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

'aside from seasonal ones'? You <AND> DH? or just 1? Just 1, a lower chance of FAs.. both parents? Its a VERY high chance of allergies in kiddo... Sure, you can buck the system, but its more than likely, kwim?

The ingredients in the mayo, as example.. look at the tjar.. find the 'albumin', or find the 'egg white'.

If you used that mayo, you used eggs, kwim?

Kinda like most non-dairy creamers... look for the 'casienate' ingredient... thats dairy, and VERY bad for a milk allergic kiddo...

Scratch tset: big lego block (or 2) 2*5 with allergens? Yeah. And they all kinda wheal (hives) or blend together, and she starts itching right? and then you give Benadryl to calm her down..?

outdoor things -- pollens. this Calendar yr was the firs yr we tested for environmental allergeries (EA's) or seasonals (SA's). We never did, because we know -- high pollen days, she sneezes.. We pre-dose with zyrtec, and all is better, kwim?

Bloodwork must be the rast (I hope) and not IgG related (RAST = IgE). Scores range from <.35 (negative) to >100 with different levels (classes) in between, ranging from class 0 to class 6.

The classes don't really matter. A positive is a positive, and you avoid avoid avoid!

You can have a VERY serious reaction to a .36 or to a >100. No rhyme/reason. Just avoid!

Now, there <ARE> false positives. If you give bananas every day, and theres NEVER a reaction, yet tests positive to banana, it COULD be a false positive. Or it could be an underlying reaction - like every day he eats bananas, he has a bad tummy ache, sleep problems, or behaviorally is a monster...

Just because one reaction to one food is hives, another could be tummy aches.

Lastly on mayo -- Theres mustard seed as well..? I Know I know.. youve never heard ofa nyone with a mustard allergy, right?

Meet Caitlin - age 7. on RAST, her score was >100 (like milk and eggs) while peanuts and nuts were lower... we're avoiding them all

I volunteer a lot of time each month, with a nonprofit for kidswithfoodallergies (get the pic?)

jason

My son was allergy tested when he was 5 yrs old they did the scratch test on his back and he came up very very allergic to trees, pollen, dust, dogs, and they also claim peanuts. He has had peanut products before this test and has shown no reaction to them at all, but he did say that it shows he may have tendancies to be allergic to nuts. I don't really understand what he meant as my son has always been around peanut products has eaten things that are around peanut products and even has tried nuts. He doesn't like peanut butter or nuts which is a good thing as the test has made me nervious about that, but im assuming maybe it was a false positive on that. When i was living in florida for a while i had some terrible terrible allergic reactions to something and i have no idea what i was allergic to. I didn't eat anything different or wash my clothes in anything different, but i landed in the er a few times because my lips got swollen and my tongue felt like it was swelling up. I never got the answers to it, but it has never happend again. Allergies are very strange indeed.

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SAHM of Bailey 12, Tyler 10 , Emily Ann 6, and Ryan Matthew 4 yrs old.