I am going to  simply tell you all about my visit, without my feelings on it, as I want YOUR honest and candid opinions on the visit from YOUR experiences.  Feel free to reply on list (if you are on one of the lists) or directly to me at [log in to unmask]

  Today, Hunter, 7 months, saw the  allergist (who is head of allergy at one of the top local hospitals).  I brought in the photos of the squash reaction as well as my list of foods we introduced, when and reactions.

  He took detailed notes.  He was very personable. I gave him our RAST Results from 2 months ago (all neg) and he decided to skin test for the following: cows milk, casein, whole egg, egg white, soy, wheat, rice, tomato, peanut, strawberry, orange.  While we were awaiting the results, he sat down with me and explained (and drew me a detailed outline) the following:

  There are 2 types of food "issues": (1) IgE allergy and explained (as if I had no prior allergy knowledge) what this was.  I asked if a person who tests negative to both RAST and SPT can still be IgE allergic and he said emphatically NO!  He explained the other type of food issue was (2) "eosinophilic gastroenteritis".  He said this causes reactions in the GI tract including reflux, diarrhea, stomach upset, and the like and if untreated can lead to food refusals and FTT.  He said biopsy is the surefire way to diagnose it.  He said EG patients can react to anything; it is often non-specific and it is sometimes, but not always, outgrown. He said there are 2 ways to prove it is outgrown (1) repeat biopsy or (2) open food challenge.  

  I asked about IgG allergies and he said they are "garbage" and that IgG testing is a misconception and there is no clinical connection.  I asked if EG as explained above can cause skin rashes like the ones Hunter has had and he said yes.  I asked if a person  who test negative to IgE ,mediated allergies is at risk for anaphylaxis and he said NO.  I asked if a person can develop a food allergy to something they previously tested negative to, and he said YES and that this was seen mostly with peanuts, treenuts and shellfish.  I asked if eating too much of any one food (like rice) makes one more susceptible to developing an allergy to it and he said NO. 

  He said no matter what the tests show he recommends a 3-4-5 rule for kids who come from allergy prone families.  This rule means...no peanuts before 3, no shellfish before 4, and no tree nuts before 5.

  He said whether a person had IgE or EG type food issues, you need to eliminate the offending food(s) from the diet in order to cure the problem and avoid further damage.

  After 15 minutes, he checked Hunter's back...and all tests were negative.  He did NOT test squash as he said there is no SPT available for squash, so he said, on the chance he may be IgE allergic to squash, and since it was our most immediate and worst reaction,  do not give it to him til after age 1.

  On other food introductions (including banana and oatmeal, to which he had delayed reactions), he said introduce foods 1 per week and at first sign of a reaction STOP and wait a few months (he was not more specific) to re-introduce.  He recommends that I slowly introduce soy milk at age 1 when we are ready to wean from formula.  If soy is tolerated, he recommends doing same slow intro with milk.  He does not recommend doing scope w/ biopsy at this time because he feels the EG can be managed with food eliminations and there are no other (i.e.-developmental, growth) issues to worry about at this time.  He said he would send his report to the pediatrician and to the gastro.  He said he is there for me, if I need him, anytime, but at this time he thinks I should not consider him truly allergic (in the IgE definition) to anything.

  I welcome your feedback.

  Nancy