>My son reacts to milk on his skin - you can try that; it
>doesn't usually cause the severe symptoms of ingested milk.
> It does create big red itchy welts.  If it does that for
>your child, it's a way to prove the allergy.  It doesn't
>work for everybody, so lack of a reaction is not proof that
>there is no allergy.
>
>Do be sure to have the Benadryl handy.
>
>

Considering the limited severity of the prior reaction, this may be ok. But
keep in mind that, for some, even a topical contact can trigger
anaphylaxis. It did for my son Josh at age 1 1/2. I acidentally touched his
arm with some raw egg. His whole arm swelled up rapidly and he soon
developed respiratory symptoms. We rushed him in for a shot of epi and some
prednisone; after that we were prescribed an Epipen.

This is not limited to eggs - I know of a young girl who reacted the same
way to topical contact with milk.

Also be forewarned that benadryl may not be enough to stop a reaction, nor
may it be fast enough. For any such challenge, you must have access to epi,
which is fast-acting. If a reaction occurs, it should be followed up
immediately in an emergency room.

Also note that a negative reaction to a topical test is not necessarily an
indication that an oral challenge will be without incident. Josh tested
negative to milk (both skin and RAST), only to have an anaphylactic
reaction to an oral challenge. Of course, we were not so knowledgable back
then, so we did the oral challenge at home, on a Sunday, after our
now-former allergist declared Josh to be free of dairy allergies.

Bottom line: tread cautiously. Not doing so can have some pretty nasty
consequences.
____________________________________________________________
Mark Feblowitz                  GTE Laboratories Incorporated
[log in to unmask]              40 Sylvan Road, Waltham, MA 02154-1120