I went to an allergist today for skin testing. I've had these tests before in my old pulmonologist's office, however, this time I've stopped my prednisone and Allegra for five days. Today I reacted to ragweed, cats :(, pollen, dust, mold, and hamsters :(.

Well, well, well...I guess I've found the answer to my recurrent bronchitis.

The last time I had skin testing, I was on 25 mg of prednisone. Could that have altered the results?

Yes it could have altered your results. I have Hereditary Angio Edema and I take Oxandrin which is a steroid similar to the effects of prednisone and they would not do the skin test on me unless I had been off medication for period of time. They also did the blood panel test to check my allergies. I didnt react much to any one thing but my overall IGe (not sure if that is right) was high which I was told I had alot of allergy irritants not full allergies to things. It seems like my allergies have gotten worse since being on these meds. I guess it could be because they can weaken your immune system. Good luck.

Did they do a control scratch with histamine? It's usually the first scratch they do & it'll show if your immune system can react to an allergen. It itches sooo bad & it'll swell up the worst out of any of them. Sounds like you've found your answer, as did I when I found out I was allergic 2 many of the things you are also(ragweed, pollen, grass, dust, dogs, cats)..I noticed I was at my worst in the fall(ragweed, my second highest reaction) and winter(when all the dust comes up, my highest reaction), did you notice that as well? I had 3 boughts of bronchitis and pneumonia once..all in 6 months..it seems like more than a coincidence that those were the high times for ragweed and dust(june-december). Also everything started right when the pollen came out in May of last year. I wasn't 2 surprised by my test results, everything makes so much more sense now. Glad you've found your triggers..!=)