>
> It seems every day is a learning experience. Now it looks like my son is
allerg
> ic to eggs(in addition to milk & soy). I'd like to get him tested for
allergies
>  but I don't know if he's too young. How young can a child be to start
testing?
> My son is 15 months. I'd like to stop this "trial and error" method I'm
using
> now and know for sure.   Thanks!
>
> -Linda Murray

    I don't mean to be discouraging, but unless you suspect a severe
allergy, "trial and error" may be the best way to figure out food
allergies. We have had my son tested by both skin tests and the RAST blood
test, and neither one has been conclusive for milk allergy or some other
non-anaphylactic allergies. We have been told that allergy testing is not
as reliable for foods or for very young children. It may give you an idea
of what's bothering your child, but false negatives are not that rare on
the skin test. I'm sorry I don't have specific numbers on the percentages.
   We, too, were very hopeful when we first went to have allergy testing
done, but it in the end it raised more questions than it answered. We felt
sure Alex was allergic to milk when he first went for skin tests, but when
the test  was negative, we were told that he wasn't allergic and we should
give him milk. Having that negative result in our medical records made it
harder to deal with other doctors and family members when we discussed our
concerns about Alex's diet and symptoms. In the end we concluded we were
right, but  things would have been easier if the doctor had listened to us
and we had trusted our own knowledge of our son. We now go to a different
allergist.
    However, if you suspect a severe reaction is possible, trial and error
is NOT a good idea. We suspect Alex is anaphylactic to peanuts, and the
RAST did show a high level of peanut antibodies. We did not have the skin
test done for peanuts.
    Regarding some of the posts about delayed reactions, Alex's reaction to
milk is delayed about 12 hours. Our current allergist says he is probably
reacting not to whole milk, but to some fragment of milk protein that
appears during digestion. This is why he doesn't show a reaction to milk on
a standard allergy test.
   I know it's frustrating! Good luck!
  Jean