interpreting allergy tests - Allergies Message Board

Danitom · 02-17-2004, 04:54 PM

does anyone know what the numbers mean? My daughter had 24 skin pricks and was positive for 11 of them(worst ones being red cedar, kochia-a weed, and pine mix) The nurse said to consider a 1 a mild allergy, a 2 a moderate and 3 a severe............I was just wondering if 3 was the HIGHEST or does it go higher?? I know the W stands for the wheal (which I KNOW can be MUCH higher than 3)and the E has something to do with the redness(which I also know can be higher) then there is another number after that that I was told to look at for the severity...............that is the number I am curious about.

another question......why do you think they only tested for 24 things? Does it really matter HOW MANY allergies she has as long as she is on meds?? She is on singulair and advair and he gave her a new med today, Pediox...to use as needed for headaches and runny nose. Her name symptom was a chronic cough that would go into bronchitis/pneumonia

reader1 · 02-18-2004, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danitom

does anyone know what the numbers mean? My daughter had 24 skin pricks and was positive for 11 of them(worst ones being red cedar, kochia-a weed, and pine mix) The nurse said to consider a 1 a mild allergy, a 2 a moderate and 3 a severe............I was just wondering if 3 was the HIGHEST or does it go higher?? I know the W stands for the wheal (which I KNOW can be MUCH higher than 3)and the E has something to do with the redness(which I also know can be higher) then there is another number after that that I was told to look at for the severity...............that is the number I am curious about.

another question......why do you think they only tested for 24 things? Does it really matter HOW MANY allergies she has as long as she is on meds?? She is on singulair and advair and he gave her a new med today, Pediox...to use as needed for headaches and runny nose. Her name symptom was a chronic cough that would go into bronchitis/pneumonia

Hi, there are many different labs that make these test serums. Some of them group similar allergens in the same "skin *****." The lab my allergist uses does not do these sorts of groupings so I was tested for over 70 allergens the last time I was tested (3 years ago-I was positive for 55 items). The numbers can go higher depending on the test used. How many and what kinds of allergies does make a difference. You need to know if she has any triggers you can avoid. Also, for people who are very severely allergic, meds are insufficient in many instances. Good luck to you. I hope she's doing better soon.

Danitom · 02-19-2004, 07:17 AM

Thank you for responding.

She has allergic asthma her specialist says. He started her off on 5mg of singulair and Advair 100/50......we did that for 2 weeks, went back and he put her on an antibiotic for a sinus infection(she had started with her cough again). She finished the amoxil, continued the other meds and we went back in another two weeks and he upped her Advair to 250/50. He said she had a "harsh cough" and wanted to see if the increase would help. It seems to have done good so far( it has just been 4 days but the cough has been suppressed) The singulair seems to also help.....we tried it every other day but had to go back to everyday. She is doing better...... I just wonder if Advair 250/50 is kinda strong for her??(6 years old about 42 pounds)

As far as "triggers" she seems to be worse when it is cold outside. Her problems don't seem to coinside with the pollen levels of her allergies....