Food Allergy Friday
Here's a quick tip for all you allergy parents out there. We took Emmy for her yearly visit to the allergist last week to have all the paperwork filled out for school this year. While we were there, the allergist told us about a new blood they've come out with. I think it's just for those with a peanut allergy, but I could be wrong. The test goes one step farther than a traditional blood test. It tests not only if a person is allergic to peanuts, but whether or not they will have the anaphylaxis reaction.
It turns out that even among the people with a 5+ allergy to peanuts, only about 1-2% of those people will go into anaphylactic shock if they ingest peanuts. If Emmy had tested negative on the blood test, we would have then brought her into the office for a tolerance test. She would always be allergic to peanuts, but it might only result in a bad rash.
Sadly, we got the call this morning that Emmy did in fact test positive for anaphylaxis, so we're just going to keep doing what we're doing...nothing changes after all.
But if you or your kid has a peanut allergy, it wouldn't hurt to ask your allergist about this test! The more we can know about allergies and reactions to them the better!
It turns out that even among the people with a 5+ allergy to peanuts, only about 1-2% of those people will go into anaphylactic shock if they ingest peanuts. If Emmy had tested negative on the blood test, we would have then brought her into the office for a tolerance test. She would always be allergic to peanuts, but it might only result in a bad rash.
Sadly, we got the call this morning that Emmy did in fact test positive for anaphylaxis, so we're just going to keep doing what we're doing...nothing changes after all.
But if you or your kid has a peanut allergy, it wouldn't hurt to ask your allergist about this test! The more we can know about allergies and reactions to them the better!
That is very helpful to know! Science these days. :)
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