Allergy Testing in a 1 Year Old

Hi A.-
My daughter started with colds around 12 months old and they increased when she started school at 17 months (she's 21 months now, and we're on a healthy week or two, thankfully)...from talking to my doctor and other friends, 1-2 seems to be the age of colds, colds colds. And this year for my family and just about everyone I know, colds and illnesses have been abundant...that's just our story. Good luck finding the solution that works for you guys, I hope she feels better soon!

Hi A.,

Traditional Allergy testing involves a skin prick test where multiple (usually 20 +) needle sticks are done on a person's back to test for reactions. Obivously, this is not practical for a 1 year old. There is however a new blood test called Immunocap to test for allergies. All it requires is 1 tube of blood and they can test for enviornmental allergies based on the area you live in, food and pet allergies from that one tube of blood, so just one needle stick. There was an older blood test called the RAST, but it was not very relialble. Depending on your doctor, they may not be familiar with the Immunocap test since it is newer. It can be done through Quest labs and other research labs.

Getting the Immunocap done will help you determine if your daughter has allergies and then if she does, you can make lifestyle changes to possibly help alleviate her symptoms. Good luck. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Allergy testing would be a great idea, There are also shots that they can be given to help them either become non or less alleric. I would definitely check this out. You could also check to see if there is a Naturopath in your area as well. There are some great things being done in Homeopathy

Hi -

We think my son has some allergies to a few things, but we've found it difficult to be sure what exactly are the problems. Apparently the main tests they can do for 'mild' symptoms such as runny nose and so on are fairly difficult to pinpoint. Mainly they suggest cutting things out to try and see if anything makes a difference. It turns out our son is probably allergic to pollen and dust as well as dairy products. We try to keep the dairy low to non-existent, and in terms of the dust, there doesn't seem to be all that much that we can do - at least that we've thought of yet. He does seem to do better without milk... and apparently that's one of the most common ones! We actually took him to a kinesiologist (like a chiropractor) who told us to try those things. Good luck with it!
A.

Please be aware that if you do have your child tested at an early age, his/her allergies may change or not appear until a later age. We had my son tested at 2 1/2 years with a prick test and it came back that he did not have allergies. At age 8 he was retested (due to suspected food allergy) and found out he is now very allergic to many things he was not allergic to at 2 1/2 including tree pollens, molds, dust mites, grasses, etc.

It is my understanding that only those things that your child has been exposed enough too that are actual allergins may show up. Seasonal allergins may not show up until a later age.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hi! Both of my kids were tested young. My daughter was tested at 13 months old with prick tests on her back followed by blood tests. She has multiple allergies to food and animals as well as seasonal allergies. My son was tested at 9 months old with just the skin testing which is more accurate in younger children than the blood test as they may not have had enough exposure to build up antibodies in the blood yet. He only has seasonal allergies and very mild animal/food allergies, but does not ned to avoid anything and only needs nose drops during the time of year it is bad for him. My daughter is on daily zyrtec and has been since her initial testing. basically I am saying go ahead with the testing, it really is not that bad. And could really help. I had to give away my 3 cats because of my daughters allergies, but I am glad I found out about it and she didn't have to suffer so much. Good luck!

Hi. My daughter had allergy testing done around age 2 (maybe a little earlier). She had 2 bad experiences before this with peanut butter. The testing confirmed she was allergic to peanuts. My husband took her and said she was really good through the whole thing, no problems at all.

She will go again soon, when she turns 3 to see if she is still allergic 'cause I know sometimes they can outgrow peanut allergies.

On a side note, I went for allergy testing probably 5 years ago because I was sneezing all the time, suddenly. Found out I was allergic to the 2 cats we got about 1 yr prior becuase they are long haired. I tried a lot of different king of allergy medications and found Zyrtec to be the only one that really helped me. I am still on it today. Testing didn't hurt. Good luck!
K.

Hi A.-

My son is 22 months and just had allergy testing done on Monday. It went SOOOOO much better than I ever imagined. It was really an easy process. I have friends who have had their kids tested at much younger ages. They do it on their backs with these plastic things...the hardest part is keeping them laying flat long enough for the stuff to dry on their back. We played airplane with him and they had a video on for him to keep him busy as well. I hope that could settle any fears you may have about getting it done. It's was much easier than expected!
He has asthma issues too so they put him on flovent in addition to his abuterol and singulair. The hope is to get him off of everything by the summer. Our doctor does not like to keep kids on medicine if it's not necessary! Obviously, we agree. You are your child's best advocate. Do what you think is best to help your child.
Good luck!

Hi, A.! Our little guy is 18-months old and, as it turns out, has pretty bad pollen allergies. We know this because we took him for a blood test at Quest Labs. The doctor couldn't do it because it's apparently a proprietary test of Quest Labs. It was no fun having them take blood from him, but, better than those stick tests. We got a whole list of tree and mold pollens he's allergic to. We give him Children's Benadryl, as our doctor advised, but, we only give it to him every few days when it gets really bad because he throws up with all the mucus he keeps swallowing. I'm hoping he'll outgrow it. BTW, neither myself nor my husband have any allergies of any kind. Good luck!

Hi A.,

We have 2 children with allergies and asthma and many years experience dealing with this subject. Our youngest daughter was tested for allergies at age 1, but only because she had a severe respiratory reaction to a particular food which landed her in the ER. But we were told at the time that allergy testing at that young of age in general is not as accurate as waiting until a child is a bit older. But a visit to an allergist who could make a determination about what tests to try, if any, and what what remedies to use might be very helpful.

I don't know what area of town you live in, but our allergist is WONDERFUL and has offices at Allegheny General Hospital and in Bellevue at Suburban General. Her name is Dr. Deborah Gentile, and her office number is ###-###-####. She is thorough and professional, wonderful and patient with children, and very respectful of parents--listening to their concerns, taking what parents have to say seriously, and giving you as much time as you need without making you feel like you are wasting her time. Her entire staff is the same way.

Best wishes!

Hi A.

Talk to your pediatrician first. She may not have allergies at all, she may just have frequent colds. My kids seem to have a cold all the time. My pediatrician told me that a cold can last about 3 weeks, and then they get another one and it seems endless... I thought we were done for the summer, but like you already noted mine all have a cold again within the last few days. Also, my youngest has asthma symptoms and eczema and our pediatrician said at 15 months she will order blood work to look for specific allergens. So, talk to you pediatrician and come up with a plan with him/her. Good luck.