Allergist

Cory's Wife

Anyone have to take LO?

Or have you been yourself?

Molly has her first appointment tomorrow and I'm just looking for experiences. 

This will be a post and run but I'll be back in about 30 minutes. TIA! 

JessicaAlice

Duplicate post

JessicaAlice

I've been.  The first appointment I just met with the doctor and talked about symptoms, etc.  He then set up the appointment for the testing, which wasnt pleasant, but not as bad as I imagined...BUT...I cant imagine doing that to a young child who doesnt understand.  That would NOT be fun...hopefully they have a super secret different way they do it on children that they dont do on adults.

Temp364615875002474

Chronic allergy sufferer here. I go at least once a year....twice if needed. A few years ago I was on allergy shots and went all the time. I know that for a first visit for children 5+ and adults, they will do the normal question/answer eval, check vitals and do a lung capacity test. Then they do a "spot test" on your arm where they actually put the suspected allergens under the skin and you wait around to see if a hive develops. That's how they start to chart your allergies to figure out the best way to manage them!

I know Molly is younger so I'm not sure how they would handle that "spot test" or breathing test for toddlers. It also depends on if you're already fairly certain about what's wrong (food allergy or something).

Hope that was a little helpful!

Cory's Wife

Thanks ladies that was helpful. I know they are doing actual testing tomorrow.  She has food allergies and her pedi already ran a blood allergy panel before she referred us. The office told us to expect at least 2 hours at this appointment which surprised me. I've never had to deal with any of this though. I hope they do have some super awesome way to test a toddler! 

alliapistor

I get weekly allergy shots and see the allergist for actual appointments 4 times a year.

If they've already done the rast test (blood test), they may not do a skin prick test.  Or they may just repeat the prick test for items that she had high positives for.  For children, they usually do the skin prick test on their backs so that they cannot scratch, but I cannot imagine a toddler sitting still for that.  Good luck!

They'll likely want a lot of history about when she has symptoms and have questions about her eating habits and your home.  Or if they give you medications, showing you how to use them (e.g., epi pen).

Feel free to ask more questions once you go.

amybyrd

I have been--don't know how they do it with kids.  I had to lay on my stomach for an hour while they poked me and checked me at various intervals for reactions.

firefleye7

I took Bella for a peanut allergy. It was NOT fun! She freaked from the back pricks. I brought a coloring book, crayons, and my iPad. The iPad was the best for her to watch Elmo while she was waiting for the full 20 minutes after the pricks. She is positive for peanut allergies...which stinks!