Allergy testing age for eczema

aysheschayel

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 12:28 pm

My baby is 5 months old BH and has severe eczema. Right now we are using a steroid cream to keep it at bay because he was suffering too much. The general feeling we got from doctors is that he's too young to do allergy testing.
At what age have you/can we do it? Especially since he could be starting solids soon I would be very helpful to know.
Recommendatioms welcome! (I'm in NYC)

Last edited by aysheschayel on Tue, Apr 18 2023, 1:46 pm; edited 1 time in total

Amethyst

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 12:35 pm

Why don't you call the allergist's office and find out what they recommend?
We took my son at about 8 months but this was after he had an allergic reaction to something. He had had eczema for a while by that time.
They can grow out of things, I know my son did. But at least we knew to be careful about some stuff. We also were told that the blood test can bring up false positives, so we had to slowly rule out some of those, one by one.
Obviously if there is a reaction to stuff with the skin test then you know there is a sensitivity or allergy.

amother

Cerise

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 2:11 pm

I would run the testing and see what comes up.

Kinesiology can also be helpful in such a case.

Or, do a complete elimination diet of the top 8-10 and reintro one ata time

amother

Firebrick

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 2:13 pm

IME they won't test that young.

But honestly, you don't really want to know. He can test positive skin/blood test and not actually be allergic to the food. The real test of an allergy is actually reacting to the food. If you take him off of something he's not really allergic to his body can actually make him allergic to it.

I would, however, recommend you talk to your pediatrician and introduce solids slowly (especially allergenic stuff) giving yourself time to see if he reacts.

Current research says not to delay introducing high allergenic foods. Bamba early especially if he's prone to allergies (eczema).

Signed,
Allergy Mom

amother

Tuberose

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 2:35 pm

Severe eczema is absolute torture! With my oldest the pediatrician insisted he was too young to test. When I finally went to the allergist he said he tests as young as newborns. With later kids I did bring them in very young, I think the youngest was a month old. Testing was always accurate for my kids and they all had eczema disappear as soon as I eliminated the foods from my diet and theirs. I know not everyone sees such a good result, but it's definitely possible and definitely worth trying. Don't waste time with elimination diets first when your child is suffering so much. You can always try that later if testing is not helpful.

amother

Indigo

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 2:46 pm

My dc had severe eczema as a baby. When he was 5 months old and brought him the doc. They said it is testing is only accurate after a year, and can be done at 6 months. I insisted on getting him tested. I tested him and am very happy that I did! Previously I was going off many foods with no luck and it was very stressful. Once I tested him I was able to go off what he was allergic to and when I saw it wasn't helping enough the doc said it looks very serious so I will have to limit a lot more food! I made the very hard decision to stop nursing and BH it was the best decision! Shortly after his eczema improved drastically! It's a definitely a journey to see what works!

Best of luck!!

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 3:11 pm

My child had severe eczema starting at 4 months old. He was tested at an allergist at 4 months and came up allergic to lots of stuff. In my experience, the positive results were completely accurate. The negative ones, not as much. He was allergic to more than what came up but it was a start. I was nursing and when I stopped eating the things he was most allergic to, his eczema got way better.

aysheschayel

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 7:55 pm

I appreciate all the responses, thanks!! So yeah it seems like it's a good idea to at least try to get him tested. Anyone have NY recommendations for an allergist who will test a that age?

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Apr 18 2023, 7:57 pm

I had this!!! My baby developed severe eczema at 2 months old. Initially used steriods that just kept the issue at bay. After 2 months we took him to allergist. Turns out he was allergic to eggs (and a bunch of other things) I removed eggs completely from my diet and he was fine. Allergist I used was Dr Kleiman on 13 avenue