Pediatric Allergist - Abilene,TX

My daughter had the full panel blood draw for allergies but nothing came up her dr wants her to see an allergist to get skin tested because she still gets really bad sinus infections. The skin tests are about 125 skin pricks on the back and arms I had it done it was not as bad as a shot but its still a poke. Nothing to be concerned about.

My son has been seeing a pediatric allergist since before his first birthday (he'll be six next month). I definitely recommend doing it, as they are better trained to deal with your child than a regular allergist or a pediatrician.

Don't be nervous. It really isn't a big deal, especially for the initial consultation. Do you know exactly what she's allergic to? Testing may help identify the causes and simply knowing what it is may make it easy to eliminate certain things and ease some of the symptoms.

Are you sure there aren't any doctors closer to your home? I just did a basic internet search for "Pediatric allergists abilene TX" and got a few hits. It's not very realistic to have a doctor 3 hours away.

What is she allergic to?

My son went to the ped allergist, we were told he was allergic to mold, trees (oak I think) and cats. We removed the cat from our home, got an air purifier (yep $450.00) but through the winter his nose was on stuffy as was the summer.

Nov. We removed gluten from his diet, No stuffy nose.. even where the pollen counts were super high.

So what is she allergic to? out door allergy's- you can work with that a great deal. Rinse off when coming in from out side. Get an air purifier.. shower before bed .. also 1 tsp of local honey a day can help because it is pollinated in the area that the allergys are from helps to build up the immunity.

Good luck.

My daughter was tested for allergies at age 4 (they normally like to wait til 5 or 6) because her symptoms were so severe. She's allergic to lots of things (some more severe than others) but luckily no food allergies. We do see a pediatric allergist because they are better at handling kids and in some cases helping them resolve the allergies. What mine has told us is that for now, we treat the allergies/get them under control and when she's older, we may be able to do the shots to "cure" her allergies (where you give them the shots and eventually they build immunity).

Nothing to be scared of! You'll be so relieved to find out what your child is actually allergic to. We found out right away that Zyrtec (which my son had been taking for years) wasn't even appropriate for his allergies. No wonder it wasn't helping! We've done the blood and skin tests. Neither we're a big deal at all. We even did the allergy shots for a while - the needle is the smallest thing I've ever seen. My son wasn't bothered by it at all.

Just know that they may not do any testing on your first visit.

Good luck!

Yes, they do the skin test. It's not too bad, even for my son with a medical phobia. The allergist can get your child started, and then they can send the serum to a local doctor's office for a nurse to administer each time; however, you will want to check to make sure that the allergist you will be visiting is willing to make this sort of arrangement, if the shots are needed. The shots have been life-changing for me and I SOOOO wish my mom had gotten them for me when I was a kid. She was afraid that the allergy testing was going to be "torture" so I suffered for decades without them.

The skin prick test and the blood tests have the same sensitivity and specificity (good thing!) but the blood test is less traumatic on the pediatric patients. The blood test is for environmental as well as food allergens based on the region where you live. Good luck!

what?! It's way more likely, if she is grinding that she has Sleep Apnea, and you need to see an ENT. Grinding is a definite sign of Sleep Apnea, there was just an article about it today on CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/16/health/dental-screening/ind...

Why are you afraid they'll recommend shots? Is it the expense or the idea of your child getting shots?

From personal experience, I can tell you that I had very bad allergies as a child, and this was back before there were many OTC antihistamines. Constant runny nose (which was embarrassing and uncomfortable), constant chapped lips due to runny nose, frequent headaches, burning eyes -- it was like walking around with a cold that wouldn't go away. My parents chose to take me to an allergist when I was 6, and I went through 6 years of allergy shots. I am SO grateful they did. It changed everything for me. Moreover, I'm glad they did it *when* they did it-- my dad went through the testing and shots at the same time, and while it helped, it never worked as well for him because he was older.

Yes, the initial testing was uncomfortable, but it was just two sessions, and the shots themselves weren't bad. In fact, the needle's so fine, the actual administration never really hurt. (Granted, they do itch afterwards for a while, or they did for me.) That's saying something, given that I was so frightened of shots, and hated them so much, I used to get hysterical and have to be held down to get one -- in fact, I once kicked an administering doctor in the crotch!

If the distance is the problem, keep in mind, you don't have to go see the allergist every time you get shots. In our case, my pediatrician was given the serum and we went to him to get the shots administered. When we ran out, the allergist would issue an upgraded serum.

The teeth grinding, I can believe. I used to do that when I was about your daughter's age because clenching my teeth was the only thing that alleviated the pressure in my sinuses. My dad did the same thing -- so much so that he eventually damaged the enamel on some of his teeth. Apnea's not likely at her age, and it would be a lot more expensive to go through a sleep clinic and test for it, anyway.

The problem with relying upon antihistamines is that many of them do have side effects, and some can increase risk of certain health problems. Plus, not all antihistamines treat the same things. As we have a family history of high blood pressure, I'm very glad I'm no. Too, you never know how they'll interact with other medications you may need to take.

Texas is utterly HORRIBLE for allergies, what with the cottonwood, live oak and cedar pollens. Please, consider the testing. If it's not allergies, you'll know it's something else, but if it is allergies, you can give your little girl some relief. She'll thank you for it later.

(And btw, my mom got me past my fear of shots by promising me a scoop of ice cream if I was a brave girl and didn't throw a fit with the shots. Maybe it was bribery, but it worked as a motivation, and I'm not at all bothered by needles now!)

Good luck. :)

P.S. Just saw your question about the testing. For me, they started with a scratch test, which is a series of small, round devices with tiny amounts of common allergens. The only discomfort is from the substances to which she's allergic, and those will itch a bit. Most of them probably won't react at all. In my case, they did a second round of those substances to which I reacted, but those were tiny injections, and there weren't many. That was it for me. Can't speak to the blood test, but I've had blood tests for other things, and those aren't bad, either -- would be even less of a bother for a little one than the scratch tests, I'd think.

I would try some essential oils before I did meds and/or shots. I believe, wintergreen, chamomile and lavender address allergies. It sure couldn't hurt. I have found the oils to be good for a lot of common ailments. Good luck! If you have any more questions you could PM me.....

My granddaughter has been seeing a pediatric allergist since she was a few years old. She's not 12. He'll probably do a skin prick test because it's more accurate than a blood test. Her allergist does not recommend shots because they are very time consuming and may not help at all.

I wonder why the dentist thinks her teeth grinding is caused by allergies. I grind my teeth. I also have allergies but no one has suggested that the two are related. My granddaughter does not grind her teeth. She is a tense person in general too.

Grinding is caused by tension in the jaws. It's related to stress. Is your child anxious and show other signs of stress? I suppose uncontrolled allergies can cause stress but I wouldn't assume it was the allergies especially if she is tense or anxious about other things.

Zyrtec works for environmental allergies but not for food allergies. The allergist will be able to test for both.