Originally Posted by ultramarina
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trust that schools require *intense* documentation and proof of that allergy from medical drs (at least our school district does).

Not mine. I know this because of the parent I was talking about earlier, whose child has IgG food sensitivities that she diagnosed using elimination diets. She reported them to the school as food allergies. Now, the child does not have a 504, so it's not like that, but there is some accommodation in the classroom, etc.

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for a child who's been confirmed as having food allergies, please don't assume that they aren't at risk of a severe anaphylactic reaction just because they haven't already experience anaphylaxis.

What do you consider confirmed food allergies? I ask because I technically have food allergies, I guess. To be more precise, on skin prick testing I measured 2+ and a 3+ to, let's see, 10-15 foods. I have a possible mild reaction to one of these foods but it's not in any way severe and I do not carry an Epi Pen. Now, I know people who had their kids allergy tested due to vague symptoms (NOT due to a clear IgE-mediated reaction after eating), got results similar to mine, cut out all those foods and began to proceed as though anaphylaxis were possibly imminent. No food challenges, which I am told by my allergist is truly the gold standard (I was offered this and declined). Now, note, I did not test positive to peanuts or shellfish, so I don't know if advice would have been different if I had, and I am an adult who is more prone to recognize a problem in progress. I am still learning, but it is certainly my impression that this is complex.

If you read the literature on allergies, it's pretty clear that a large percentage of the popoulation reports having food allergies but by medical definitions, only a small # truly do. Please don't misunderstand me--this isn't to say that children who have had anaphylaxis and obvious reactions do not have food allergies!! I am not talking about that here, but there is a large self-diagnosis group, and then there are those who may have gotten less clear or different advice from an allergist than I did.

It would be nice if we had a more accurate test.

Please see my post above this one. I agree with you, by the way. I was diagnosed with a shellfish allergy as an adult (though I probably developed that allergy when I was about 8-9yo, in light of my history). No testing needed, as history is pretty conclusive, and yes, I have anaphylaxed pretty convincingly. I carry epinephrine and avoid.



There are better diagnostic tools, and a better practice parameter exists now, as well.

http://www.aaaai.org/practice-resou...arameters-and-other-guidelines-page.aspx

Number one rule there is probably: IgG has nothing to do with food allergies.

{sigh}

A great source to explore some of these issues is at AAAAI's "ask the expert" archives (our allergist is one of their experts-- it's kinda fun to guess which allergist is answering, actually):

http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert.aspx


Last edited by HowlerKarma; 06/06/14 08:54 PM.

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