Allergy Tests (blood)

[Guest guest]

BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgE tests. When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratch test that is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is not the greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be when exposed to the allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of what will most likely cause a problem. Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially for allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis.

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

[Guest guest]

FYI, our ped told us a few days ago that IgG and IgE tests are not accurate in younger children. He encouraged us to get our 10-year-old tested, but warned that for our 4-year-old, we'd likely be wasting our money (it's not covered by our insurance). Then I talked to a mom who had her son tested at ages 4 and 9--and sure enough, his tests at age 4 all came back negative, but by age 9, the allergy showed up. (She thinks he had the allergy all along, but the blood tests just didn't show it when he was four.) I don't know if this problem is only with false negatives. Maybe the positive results are still accurate. , do you know?

Bonnie

BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgE tests. When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratch test that is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is not the greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be when exposed to the allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of what will most likely cause a problem.

Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially for allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis. Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Hi Bonnie,

First thought - was this your mainstream ped? I ask because it just

seems that mainstream medicine is not willing to accept conditions

such as " leaky gut, " gut yeast overgrowth, mercury toxicity, general

gut flora dysbiosis, etc. as valid conditions that can be causing

problems for kids these days. (IgG testing can be indicative of leaky

gut and hint to general gut problems.) The mainstream docs are the

ones convincing parents that the kids will " grow out " of the

constipation, that it's mostly (or all) in their heads, and that it's

perfectly acceptable to give Miralax (or other laxative) for years on

end and 'retrain' the kids - when in reality 30-50% of these kids

continue into adolescence with constipation issues. The mainstream

docs aren't typically interested in finding out the underlying cause.

Without digressing further, prior to getting DS's IgG food panel run,

I had read that there is some " controversy " over the

reliability/accuracy/importance of IgG food testing in general. I

don't remember the source but think it was a physician who wrote the

article, and I admit being biased toward believing the test would be

helpful and perhaps not giving the information much consideration at

the time.

That said, the holistic/integrative medicine doc didn't waiver in

recommending the test for DS (3 yrs old). I had not told her in

advance it was my intention to have the IgG testing (or any of the

other tests), we simply went into the

appointment, discussed his constipation and other symptoms (e.g., he

always seemed to have 'some' congestion - nothing major, but always a

'bat in the cave' or two - every day; he was very very flatulent,

every day; etc. etc.). She took notes, asked questions, did a brief

exam, and then rattled off a list of tests that she would recommend,

including the IgG food panel.

His results showed 28 reactive foods. Do I think all of them are

going to be lifelong food allergies? I don't at this point. Some of

the " +1 " foods I think showed up because he does have a leaky gut and

they were foods we were eating a lot of in the months prior to the

blood draw (e.g., all citrus fruits were " +1 " - but, we were hooked on

clementines for a couple months just prior to testing). I think once

we heal his gut, many of the " +1 " foods will not show up

again (at least I'm hopeful). Gluten containing grains were high

( " +2 " oat, barley, rye and " +3 " for wheat - these may be more

indicative of a lifelong 'allergy'/issue - we're still waiting on my

results before testing DS for celiac genes).

But, the test confirmed my suspicion of leaky gut and/or a gut in

distress that needs healing and attention. Combined with the

anti-gliadin IgG/IgA test, comprehensive stool analysis, porphyrin

test, thyroid panel, blood workup, and the organic acids test (which I

could probably have lived without), we really gained more confidence

instead of just " guessing " at what was going on.

So, I guess it boils down to the expectations from the IgG testing.

If a pediatrician is thinking only of " true " allergies (i.e.,

anaphalactic reactions) - then, perhaps they only will find the skin

prick and/or the IgE testing to be important. If they are accepting

of the idea of delayed food allergies being a problem (as perhaps your

ped might be), then maybe the thought is that most kids " out grow " the

food intolerances that they have when they are young so why bother

testing at a young age.?? (I'm just speculating there based on the

fact that our pediatricians have always said - " oh, by 1 or 2 or maybe

3 years of age, most kids out grow the dairy " allergy " or the egg

allergy, etc., etc.).

If you want to create a more " data " based picture of your child's gut

status and know for certain which foods are really provoking the

delayed (IgG) immune reaction which can be continually irritating the

gut and not allowing it to heal, taxing the immune system

unnecessarily, and affecting the brain, then I, personally, think the

test is useful for this.

We are avoiding all the " +2 " or higher foods (which were, for us, just

the gluten containing grains) and doing our best to avoid or, at the

most, rotate the " +1 " foods (something like 24 of them!). We will

probably re-test in a year (or more - whenever we feel we've made some

progress on his gut) and see what he's reacting to at that point

(hopefully it will be fewer foods!).

More than anything, I needed this " data " to convince DH to really be

on board with my agenda of gut healing and the absolute need to avoid

certain foods. I also needed a boost of confidence that I wasn't just

over-obsessing, over-thinking, and driving us all crazy. In the end,

we had some surprises revealed (gluten intolerance and mercury

toxicity) that we would not have probably figured out on our own.

(Well, perhaps I would've gone with trying GF at some point, but I

would have *never* guessed or suspected mercury due to his vaccine

history (or relative lack thereof..) - never thought about my amalgam

replacement when he was a couple months old until his porphyrin

results came back...)

hth?!?!

best,

>

> > BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgE

tests.

> > When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratch

test that

> > is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is

*not *the

> > greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be when

exposed to the

> > allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of what

will most

> > likely cause a problem.

> >

> > Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially for

> > allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis.

> >

> > ------------------------------

> > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your

homepage.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,No, this wasn't our mainstream ped -- my 10-year-old is an alternative HMO, so her ped is a chiropractor. He's very in favor of IgG testing. Our mainstream ped (who my 4-year-old has to see because he's in the same group as her occupational therapist) probably has never heard of IgG testing.

I can relate to doing this kind of test to get a husband on board...that's why I'm going to subject my 10-year-old to it. I have a pretty good idea of what her allergies are, based on muscle testing with her chiropractor, but my husband considers that quackery (and he does a lot of her meal preparation, so he needs to understand her allergies). A blood test, though, he considers to be science...I'm really curious to see if the IgG results will match the muscle testing results.

I didn't mean to suggest that your son's results might not be accurate. The ped didn't say why he considers the tests to be less reliable for young children, but I gather from my conversation with another mom that sometimes young children don't show any sensitivities, even if they have them. I *think* that maybe the positive results are reliable, but the negative ones are less so. Like a pregnancy test...and various other tests that I've heard of but can't think of this morning because my brain is foggy (my 4-year-old was up in the middle of the night).

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie,

First thought - was this your mainstream ped? I ask because it just

seems that mainstream medicine is not willing to accept conditions

such as " leaky gut, " gut yeast overgrowth, mercury toxicity, general

gut flora dysbiosis, etc. as valid conditions that can be causing

problems for kids these days. (IgG testing can be indicative of leaky

gut and hint to general gut problems.) The mainstream docs are the

ones convincing parents that the kids will " grow out " of the

constipation, that it's mostly (or all) in their heads, and that it's

perfectly acceptable to give Miralax (or other laxative) for years on

end and 'retrain' the kids - when in reality 30-50% of these kids

continue into adolescence with constipation issues. The mainstream

docs aren't typically interested in finding out the underlying cause.

Without digressing further, prior to getting DS's IgG food panel run,

I had read that there is some " controversy " over the

reliability/accuracy/importance of IgG food testing in general. I

don't remember the source but think it was a physician who wrote the

article, and I admit being biased toward believing the test would be

helpful and perhaps not giving the information much consideration at

the time.

That said, the holistic/integrative medicine doc didn't waiver in

recommending the test for DS (3 yrs old). I had not told her in

advance it was my intention to have the IgG testing (or any of the

other tests), we simply went into the

appointment, discussed his constipation and other symptoms (e.g., he

always seemed to have 'some' congestion - nothing major, but always a

'bat in the cave' or two - every day; he was very very flatulent,

every day; etc. etc.). She took notes, asked questions, did a brief

exam, and then rattled off a list of tests that she would recommend,

including the IgG food panel.

His results showed 28 reactive foods. Do I think all of them are

going to be lifelong food allergies? I don't at this point. Some of

the " +1 " foods I think showed up because he does have a leaky gut and

they were foods we were eating a lot of in the months prior to the

blood draw (e.g., all citrus fruits were " +1 " - but, we were hooked on

clementines for a couple months just prior to testing). I think once

we heal his gut, many of the " +1 " foods will not show up

again (at least I'm hopeful). Gluten containing grains were high

( " +2 " oat, barley, rye and " +3 " for wheat - these may be more

indicative of a lifelong 'allergy'/issue - we're still waiting on my

results before testing DS for celiac genes).

But, the test confirmed my suspicion of leaky gut and/or a gut in

distress that needs healing and attention. Combined with the

anti-gliadin IgG/IgA test, comprehensive stool analysis, porphyrin

test, thyroid panel, blood workup, and the organic acids test (which I

could probably have lived without), we really gained more confidence

instead of just " guessing " at what was going on.

So, I guess it boils down to the expectations from the IgG testing.

If a pediatrician is thinking only of " true " allergies (i.e.,

anaphalactic reactions) - then, perhaps they only will find the skin

prick and/or the IgE testing to be important. If they are accepting

of the idea of delayed food allergies being a problem (as perhaps your

ped might be), then maybe the thought is that most kids " out grow " the

food intolerances that they have when they are young so why bother

testing at a young age.?? (I'm just speculating there based on the

fact that our pediatricians have always said - " oh, by 1 or 2 or maybe

3 years of age, most kids out grow the dairy " allergy " or the egg

allergy, etc., etc.).

If you want to create a more " data " based picture of your child's gut

status and know for certain which foods are really provoking the

delayed (IgG) immune reaction which can be continually irritating the

gut and not allowing it to heal, taxing the immune system

unnecessarily, and affecting the brain, then I, personally, think the

test is useful for this.

We are avoiding all the " +2 " or higher foods (which were, for us, just

the gluten containing grains) and doing our best to avoid or, at the

most, rotate the " +1 " foods (something like 24 of them!). We will

probably re-test in a year (or more - whenever we feel we've made some

progress on his gut) and see what he's reacting to at that point

(hopefully it will be fewer foods!).

More than anything, I needed this " data " to convince DH to really be

on board with my agenda of gut healing and the absolute need to avoid

certain foods. I also needed a boost of confidence that I wasn't just

over-obsessing, over-thinking, and driving us all crazy. In the end,

we had some surprises revealed (gluten intolerance and mercury

toxicity) that we would not have probably figured out on our own.

(Well, perhaps I would've gone with trying GF at some point, but I

would have *never* guessed or suspected mercury due to his vaccine

history (or relative lack thereof..) - never thought about my amalgam

replacement when he was a couple months old until his porphyrin

results came back...)

hth?!?!

best,

>

> > BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgE

tests.

> > When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratch

test that

> > is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is

*not *the

> > greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be when

exposed to the

> > allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of what

will most

> > likely cause a problem.

> >

> > Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially for

> > allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis.

> >

> > ------------------------------

> > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your

homepage.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My pediatrician said the same thing. However, IMO, it holds more truth in connection with "seasonal" allergies than it does for food allergies. The theory is that it takes time for the body to build the allergic response to the stimulus - i.e., that's why most of the time you don't see seasonal allergies begin in children until they are around 3 or 4 - they've had three to four seasons of exposure. However, kids are exposed to both food and animal with greater frequency. I agree in the sense that I wouldn't test an infant, but I certainly would test a 3 year old. My son was under 2 when we did scratch tests for food and the reactions were off the chart, and the peanut "spot" even spread for a week before fading (and even with us using benadryl post-testing to stave it off). I haven't tested my son sublingually yet...I have to meet with his allergist regarding testing

for antibiotic allergies and most likely will take that route after an IgE (my son is 7-1/2 now). I don't know if there are false positives, though my friend had her son go thru an IgE at around 4, and every positive that came back is something he's actually either sensitive or allergic to. And she' VERY liberal and laid back about his peanut allergy. Doctor prescribed epipen, yet she'll let the kid eat things with peanut allergy warning labels on them (the ones that say "manufactured on equipment or in a facility that processes peanuts"). Bonnie Juettner wrote: FYI, our ped told us a few days ago that IgG and IgE tests are not accurate in younger children. He encouraged us to get our 10-year-old tested, but warned that for our 4-year-old, we'd likely be wasting our money (it's not covered by our insurance). Then I talked to a mom who had her son tested at ages 4 and 9--and sure enough, his tests at age 4 all came back negative, but by age 9, the allergy showed up. (She thinks he had the allergy all along, but the blood tests just didn't show it when he was four.) I don't know if this problem is only with false negatives. Maybe the positive results are still accurate. , do you know? Bonnie On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 10:01 AM, Cohen <lbccats> wrote: BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgE tests. When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratch test that is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is not the greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be when exposed to the allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of what will most likely cause a problem. Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially for allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis. Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

[Guest guest]

Hi , Well put!! This is what I was getting at when I said that it will at least give you an idea of what may be problematic, and that a less reactive result or more reactive result on the test may not necessarily be indicative of the actual reaction the body will manifest. Thank you for the more in-depth view. littlelief wrote: Hi Bonnie,First thought - was this your mainstream ped? I ask because it

justseems that mainstream medicine is not willing to accept conditionssuch as "leaky gut," gut yeast overgrowth, mercury toxicity, generalgut flora dysbiosis, etc. as valid conditions that can be causingproblems for kids these days. (IgG testing can be indicative of leakygut and hint to general gut problems.) The mainstream docs are theones convincing parents that the kids will "grow out" of theconstipation, that it's mostly (or all) in their heads, and that it'sperfectly acceptable to give Miralax (or other laxative) for years onend and 'retrain' the kids - when in reality 30-50% of these kidscontinue into adolescence with constipation issues. The mainstreamdocs aren't typically interested in finding out the underlying cause.Without digressing further, prior to getting DS's IgG food panel run,I had read that there is some "controversy" over thereliability/accuracy/importance of IgG food testing in

general. Idon't remember the source but think it was a physician who wrote thearticle, and I admit being biased toward believing the test would behelpful and perhaps not giving the information much consideration atthe time.That said, the holistic/integrative medicine doc didn't waiver inrecommending the test for DS (3 yrs old). I had not told her inadvance it was my intention to have the IgG testing (or any of theother tests), we simply went into theappointment, discussed his constipation and other symptoms (e.g., healways seemed to have 'some' congestion - nothing major, but always a'bat in the cave' or two - every day; he was very very flatulent,every day; etc. etc.). She took notes, asked questions, did a briefexam, and then rattled off a list of tests that she would recommend,including the IgG food panel.His results showed 28 reactive foods. Do I think all of them aregoing to be lifelong food

allergies? I don't at this point. Some ofthe "+1" foods I think showed up because he does have a leaky gut andthey were foods we were eating a lot of in the months prior to theblood draw (e.g., all citrus fruits were "+1" - but, we were hooked onclementines for a couple months just prior to testing). I think oncewe heal his gut, many of the "+1" foods will not show upagain (at least I'm hopeful). Gluten containing grains were high("+2" oat, barley, rye and "+3" for wheat - these may be moreindicative of a lifelong 'allergy'/issue - we're still waiting on myresults before testing DS for celiac genes). But, the test confirmed my suspicion of leaky gut and/or a gut indistress that needs healing and attention. Combined with theanti-gliadin IgG/IgA test, comprehensive stool analysis, porphyrintest, thyroid panel, blood workup, and the organic acids test (which Icould probably have lived without), we really gained more

confidenceinstead of just "guessing" at what was going on.So, I guess it boils down to the expectations from the IgG testing. If a pediatrician is thinking only of "true" allergies (i.e.,anaphalactic reactions) - then, perhaps they only will find the skinprick and/or the IgE testing to be important. If they are acceptingof the idea of delayed food allergies being a problem (as perhaps yourped might be), then maybe the thought is that most kids "out grow" thefood intolerances that they have when they are young so why bothertesting at a young age.?? (I'm just speculating there based on thefact that our pediatricians have always said - "oh, by 1 or 2 or maybe3 years of age, most kids out grow the dairy "allergy" or the eggallergy, etc., etc.). If you want to create a more "data" based picture of your child's gutstatus and know for certain which foods are really provoking thedelayed (IgG) immune reaction which

can be continually irritating thegut and not allowing it to heal, taxing the immune systemunnecessarily, and affecting the brain, then I, personally, think thetest is useful for this. We are avoiding all the "+2" or higher foods (which were, for us, justthe gluten containing grains) and doing our best to avoid or, at themost, rotate the "+1" foods (something like 24 of them!). We willprobably re-test in a year (or more - whenever we feel we've made someprogress on his gut) and see what he's reacting to at that point(hopefully it will be fewer foods!).More than anything, I needed this "data" to convince DH to really beon board with my agenda of gut healing and the absolute need to avoidcertain foods. I also needed a boost of confidence that I wasn't justover-obsessing, over-thinking, and driving us all crazy. In the end,we had some surprises revealed (gluten intolerance and mercurytoxicity) that we would

not have probably figured out on our own. (Well, perhaps I would've gone with trying GF at some point, but Iwould have *never* guessed or suspected mercury due to his vaccinehistory (or relative lack thereof..) - never thought about my amalgamreplacement when he was a couple months old until his porphyrinresults came back...)hth?!?!best,> > > BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgEtests.> > When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratchtest that> > is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is*not *the> > greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be whenexposed to the> > allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of whatwill most> > likely cause a problem.> >> > Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially

for> > allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis.> >> > ------------------------------> > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo yourhomepage.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>> > > >>

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

[Guest guest]

OH Bonnie!

No worries - I did not think you were suggesting DS's test results

were not accurate! Hope my reply did not sound that way - it was not

intended to!!

I actually think that with the IgG testing, some of the weak positives

could be considered " false positives " - in the sense that they might

be 'overcome' when the gut is healed properly. So, for a short time,

they are 'positives' because while the gut is leaky and digestion is

not properly occurring, the proteins from these foods are getting out

of the intestines and activating an immune response. But, in the end,

they may not be such a problem in a properly functioning GI

tract...??..This may not be true (or at least not true for all the

positives (esp. the strongly positive ones) - but I have heard of such

" successes " after healing the gut...

I would be very curious to know if your 10 yr old's IgG test results

align with the muscle testing. I would prefer that to a blood draw

for my guys any day!

And, perhaps over time, my DH will start to trust these other methods

so that I can get the info in less invasive ways. He is already

beginning (I think??) to see that I wasn't totally coo coo for pushing

for some of these interventions (well, a girl can dream, right?)!

(it's especially challenging to get him on board with some of this

because DS is " neurotypical " so he thinks there's no need to intervene

aside from getting him to have bms. Of course, getting him to have

regular bms involves more than just laxatives in my book. And, there

are just so many striking similarities with his symptoms/gut issues

and those of some kids on the spectrum that I cannot ignore it. My

theory is that we are truly lucky that DS hasn't had the onslaught of

childhood vaccines and antibiotics/meds that many kids get. I believe

it's possible that he could be a totally different kid right now had I

not refused all but 2 doses of DTaP and refused to use Miralax and

some other meds when he was an infant.... But, DH just thinks I'm

nutty for even hypothesizing that).

Now - stop reading & get some rest young lady!! =)

best,

> > >

> > > > BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgE

> > tests.

> > > > When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratch

> > test that

> > > > is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is

> > *not *the

> > > > greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be when

> > exposed to the

> > > > allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of what

> > will most

> > > > likely cause a problem.

> > > >

> > > > Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially for

> > > > allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis.

> > > >

> > > > ------------------------------

> > > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your

> > homepage.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, (especially for the rest recommendation, which is a really good idea!)...You may be right about weak positives/false positives. I'll have to do some more looking into this. My 10-year-old will do her blood test next week--I'll post the results and let you know if they matched the muscle testing!

And--husbands. My DH insists that we should feed our 4-year-old anything she wants, because no dietary change has ever worked for her, and he says, " nothing ever will. " So...apparently, I'm supposed to just give up? Sigh. Though, if our test results for our 10-year-old end up helping her, maybe the experience will raise his consciousness about healing through nutrition in general. I can only hope...

Bonnie

OH Bonnie!

No worries - I did not think you were suggesting DS's test results

were not accurate! Hope my reply did not sound that way - it was not

intended to!!

I actually think that with the IgG testing, some of the weak positives

could be considered " false positives " - in the sense that they might

be 'overcome' when the gut is healed properly. So, for a short time,

they are 'positives' because while the gut is leaky and digestion is

not properly occurring, the proteins from these foods are getting out

of the intestines and activating an immune response. But, in the end,

they may not be such a problem in a properly functioning GI

tract...??..This may not be true (or at least not true for all the

positives (esp. the strongly positive ones) - but I have heard of such

" successes " after healing the gut...

I would be very curious to know if your 10 yr old's IgG test results

align with the muscle testing. I would prefer that to a blood draw

for my guys any day!

And, perhaps over time, my DH will start to trust these other methods

so that I can get the info in less invasive ways. He is already

beginning (I think??) to see that I wasn't totally coo coo for pushing

for some of these interventions (well, a girl can dream, right?)!

(it's especially challenging to get him on board with some of this

because DS is " neurotypical " so he thinks there's no need to intervene

aside from getting him to have bms. Of course, getting him to have

regular bms involves more than just laxatives in my book. And, there

are just so many striking similarities with his symptoms/gut issues

and those of some kids on the spectrum that I cannot ignore it. My

theory is that we are truly lucky that DS hasn't had the onslaught of

childhood vaccines and antibiotics/meds that many kids get. I believe

it's possible that he could be a totally different kid right now had I

not refused all but 2 doses of DTaP and refused to use Miralax and

some other meds when he was an infant.... But, DH just thinks I'm

nutty for even hypothesizing that).

Now - stop reading & get some rest young lady!! =)

best,

> > >

> > > > BTW, when blood testing for allergies, ask for the IgG and IgE

> > tests.

> > > > When conducted alone, they are a better indicators than a scratch

> > test that

> > > > is done alone. Though the severity of reaction on the IgG/IgE is

> > *not *the

> > > > greatest indication of how severe the reaction will be when

> > exposed to the

> > > > allergen or when it is ingested, there is a better idea of what

> > will most

> > > > likely cause a problem.

> > > >

> > > > Best bet is to do a follow up with a scratch test, especially for

> > > > allergens/foods that are more apt to cause anaphylaxis.

> > > >

> > > > ------------------------------

> > > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your

> > homepage.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>