I think the sad truth is you can't know.
The science is just not there yet--it's not like
broken bones or something.
The immune system is still a mystery, and the
autoimmune stuff--cancer, lupus, allergies, are a
guess.
My son is allergic (shows allergic on a test) to
things he eats and is ok. But he is also anaphylactic
to multiple things...
Food challenge is the only way, but it is risky...and
it IS true--alergies can develop or worsen at anytime.
Thanks goodness for Epi-pen Jr.

 --- Marla Shapiro <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> thanks, angel.....
>
> ....one thing i really wish i understood better is
> how allergies worsen. =
> on one hand, i hear stories like yours, which makes
> sense; i've heard that =
> each exposure can/will incr severity of reaction bc
> ea exposure leads to =
> production of more antibodies. and when our last
> allergist thought my =
> daughter'd outgrown her dairy allergy, she began
> reacting more & more =
> violently to increasingly small amounts of dairy.
> then, on the other hand, =
> i talk to folks like another mom at daycare whose
> son is allergic to =
> peanuts. he can eat foods w/ peanut oils, & foods
> that have touched =
> peanuts, but just not peanuts themselves or peanut
> butter; so why doesn't =
> his allergy worsen? my daughter's allergic to sesame
> too, not just =
> milk...people think i'm a little paranoid when i get
> edgy about a bagel =
> that has had a sesame seed on it, but i just don't
> know how much she can =
> tolerate, and the idea of trial/error makes me
> really nervous.... and =
> besides; just bc she can tolerate "X" amount of
> sesame one day, how do i =
> know whether or not she'll get a reaction to the
> same amount the next =
> day?=20
> make sense? ...anybody have any insights for me??
> thanks
> marla
>
> Marla Shapiro, Ph.D.
> MSC 5A0622
> Regents Center for Learning Disorders
> Georgia State University
> 33 Gilmer Street SE, Unit 5
> Atlanta, GA 30303-3085
>
>
> >>> [log in to unmask] 03/07/03 03:45PM >>>
> Hi Marla,
>  Actually, it has gotten worse with time. ....


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