Wheat Allergy - Irving,TX

Did they do any testing before the diet? The reason I ask is that if she's not eating the wheat or gluten, the tests will be negative in the future because her body shouldn't have the antibodies if she's been on the diet for a while. The only thing they would be able to test would be for an immediate IgE reaction and that's not the usual reaction to wheat or gluten. The typical allergic reaction (or sign of gluten sensitivity) is an IgG reaction, which reflects antibodies that develop over a period of time. You might want to consider doing a gene test to see if she has the genes associated with gluten sensitivity, in which case it's likely not a good idea to ever consider adding that back to her diet. You can find info on this at www.enterolab.com or on www.doctorgluten.com. These sites are run by two MDs (Dr. Fine and Dr. Ford, respectively) that discovered independently that there are alot of people that really shouldn't be eating gluten. Also, did they do a biopsy of her skin when she had the hives to see if it was dermatitis herpetiformis, which is the skin reaction to gluten? I think you'll find in the future that the docs may want to test and they'll suggest you add the gluten back into the diet (called a "gluten challenge") to see if her body does develop the antibodies again. The problem with that is that it's very error prone as the amount of time it takes to develop the IgG antibodies again is highly variable and the damage that the gluten can do is sometimes irreversible. The latest research is finding that beyond the skin and gut reactions to gluten that there is alot of impact on the brain and nervous system. I have peripheral neuropathy, which is nerve damage from the gluten and a top psychiatrist that runs clinics that do SPECT brain scans has seen the impact of the gluten on the brain. Personally, I would be thankful that you discovered this issue before your daughter had additional health impacts from the gluten. Due to the ignorance of my doctor and my kids' pediatrician, we didn't discover this issue in our family until I was 42 and my kids were almost 8 and 10.

Ask the pedi for a RAST test. It's a simple bloodtest and can be used to ID food and enviromental allergens now. It's important to do as avoidance is the best shot you can give your child to have a chance of outgrowing them.

My boy had RAST done at 7 months to ID his dairy allergy. We restested a few months later using RAST and his allergy was neagative. We then did a skin test and at home challenge to confirm the results at 14 months of age.

Pedis are not allergists, so press for this test. It isn't even expensive. If you then have allergies that come back positive, please seek a pediatric allergist. We have been happy with Dr. Ginchansky at Medical City.

most doctors won't test until four, however I've heard that it is best to keep them off something for a year before either testing or trying to eat it again. I have the absolute BEST pediatric allergist/immunologist. If you need a name I will be happy to pass it along. I think that he has been known to test earlier than 4 as well.

My boys were tested for allergies when they were about 18 months old due to their severe eczema and asthma. Their pediatrician did have to 'search' for an allergist that would do the testing though. They went to Dr. Bob Lanier in Fort Worth.