Allergy Tests

[Rags]

Going on from a previous thread, is it possible to have an allergy test to understand identifying foods that your doesnt agree with.

I went to the doctor complaining of a possible intolerance to something and his answer was:

'Sorry sir, there is no method for identifying allergy to certain food groups, you will just have to keep a food diary'

Is this wrong or right?

[smutbag]

Wrong.

You can have food allergy tests for asthma etc, I've had them I think what he meant was the GP doesn't supply these.

I think what you may be looking for are food intolerance testing though, which is slightly different. You can get these done on the high street at holland and barrat or you can order them on the net.

[Rags]

Good, we are getting somewhere.

I guess my next question is, how reliable are they, do they cover many food groups and whats the £cost?

[Scraggles]

had the hayfever tests as a kid, told me what stuff to avoid eg grass and found that tree pollen does not affect me, suspect it has come on a long way from then

however u will find that you are allergic to most foods....

try cutting out meat and dairy and become a veggie

[Firkin D]

Rags said:

Going on from a previous thread, is it possible to have an allergy test to understand identifying foods that your doesnt agree with.

I went to the doctor complaining of a possible intolerance to something and his answer was:

'Sorry sir, there is no method for identifying allergy to certain food groups, you will just have to keep a food diary'

Is this wrong or right?

I got the same answer from my GP when I asked too.

[smutbag]

Rags said:

Good, we are getting somewhere.

I guess my next question is, how reliable are they, do they cover many food groups and whats the £cost?

http://www.yorktest.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/south/series2/food_...

[Ail Puant]

smutbag said:

Rags said:

Good, we are getting somewhere.

I guess my next question is, how reliable are they, do they cover many food groups and whats the £cost?

http://www.yorktest.com

Funnily enough I have just been talking to a chap I work with who, along with his daughter has just done this. They are both allergic/intolerant to a number of yeast based products, his daughter being much worse than him.
They are both very impressed with the test and the follow up. He showed me the results and the booklets that they give explaining things as well as alternative foods and drinks etc.
He says that since having the tests and identifying the worst offenders they have both made big improvements in the quality of their daily lives.

[Iain328]

Crap.

One of my kids is very allergic to nuts so both of them have had extensive skin-prick tests. Basically they prick the skin on your arm & drop essence of egg/wheat/nuts/pollens/cats/dogs/horse (you name it!) on the spot and then see what happens.

With particular food stuffs they can then go on to do what they call a food challenge which is where they take a bit of (for example) egg or cheese etc & you rub it on your skin, if you get no reaction after 30 secs or so then you rub it on your lips, if no reaction you put it in your mouth for 30 secs & then finally if all is clear you swallow it & see what happens.
This is usually used for determinine severe (anaphalactic) reactions though.

Obviously it helps if you do some elimination over a few weeks to see what's causing you issues. My Mrs has becaome pretty intolerant of wheat over the last 6-8 months. She just avoids it now. When you get a food intolerance like that there is no cure as such. In the case of severe allergy (i.e. like my daughter's nut allergy) then your into the realms of anaphalaxis & carrying Epi-pens etc.

Otherwise you just have to avoid whatever it is that causes you an issue. You may well find that if you avoid the thing for 6-8 months you can slowly re-introduce it in moderation.

You need to get your doctor to refer you to a local allergy clinic. Not all hospitals have them but if you are anywhere near Surrey there is a very good one established at St Peter's at Chertsey. And of course you can go privately....

Edited by Iain328 on Tuesday 14th October 09:38

[Rach*]

You should look at the meanings of each too so you really understand what your asking for:

Allergy - Is a reaction to an antigen where the body produces antibodies, results itching, rashes, raised pulse, difficuly breathing & swelling.

Hypersensitivity - Hayfever type thing

Intolerance - Things like lactose, wheat, gluten.

This is from the top of my head, but I think its important to know the difference so your GP/Health practioner can help, rather than vaguely asking for tests.

I am allergic to wasps and had allergy testing done at hospital, which involved taking blood and checking the white blood cells for the antibodies.
Also suspected I'm allergic to weight watchers bread but its difficult to test for specific E numbers and addivitves.

So if your having lots of reactions them maybe a food diary would help?

[ooo000ooo]

You could go and see a Kinesiologist. My OH and a couple of her mates have been to see one and she identified allergies/intolerances to different food stuffs just by poking different bits of her body. One of her mates has been using one for a few years and by following her advice has gone from using an asthma inhaler daily to using it once very 6 months.
All sounded a bit to me, especially when she talked about having her chakras realigned but seems to be working for the OH (wheat allergy/intolerance apparently)

[hman]

ooo000ooo said:

You could go and see a Kinesiologist. My OH and a couple of her mates have been to see one and she identified allergies/intolerances to different food stuffs just by poking different bits of her body. One of her mates has been using one for a few years and by following her advice has gone from using an asthma inhaler daily to using it once very 6 months.
All sounded a bit to me, especially when she talked about having her chakras realigned but seems to be working for the OH (wheat allergy/intolerance apparently)

bunch of hippy crap, it sounds like that sketch in Harry and Paul - the expensive st shop one.

Thing is, the people who carry it out aren't health proffesionals!!!.

Would you take your dog to someone who wasnt a vet if it was ill? - no?, exactly so why allow your missus to go to some brainwashed hippy who likes "touching" her ???

"oh yeh man, its like I poke you here and I can tell that whether you have an allergey to wheat" PMSL.

Tell your wife to give you the money to re-align her chakras....

Then light a jostick and bang up the batty!

[ukwill]

hman said:

ooo000ooo said:

You could go and see a Kinesiologist. My OH and a couple of her mates have been to see one and she identified allergies/intolerances to different food stuffs just by poking different bits of her body. One of her mates has been using one for a few years and by following her advice has gone from using an asthma inhaler daily to using it once very 6 months.
All sounded a bit to me, especially when she talked about having her chakras realigned but seems to be working for the OH (wheat allergy/intolerance apparently)

bunch of hippy crap, it sounds like that sketch in Harry and Paul - the expensive st shop one.

Thing is, the people who carry it out aren't health proffesionals!!!.

Would you take your dog to someone who wasnt a vet if it was ill? - no?, exactly so why allow your missus to go to some brainwashed hippy who likes "touching" her ???

"oh yeh man, its like I poke you here and I can tell that whether you have an allergey to wheat" PMSL.

Tell your wife to give you the money to re-align her chakras....

Then light a jostick and bang up the batty!

You're always guaranteed a response like this from certain sections. I suppose Tai Chi and meditation are also filed under "hippy crap" in your small minded world?

Just hope you never get ill and find that "conventional" medicine cant fix you. Of course, you'll just stay ill and possibly deteriorate if that were the case, because anything non-conventional must be "hippy crap".

[AndyKH]

My daughter just had some tests done to find out what she has an allergy to. They took bloods and we got some results a few days late stating what she could and couldnt eat.

[hman]

ukwill said:

hman said:

ooo000ooo said:

You could go and see a Kinesiologist. My OH and a couple of her mates have been to see one and she identified allergies/intolerances to different food stuffs just by poking different bits of her body. One of her mates has been using one for a few years and by following her advice has gone from using an asthma inhaler daily to using it once very 6 months.
All sounded a bit to me, especially when she talked about having her chakras realigned but seems to be working for the OH (wheat allergy/intolerance apparently)

bunch of hippy crap, it sounds like that sketch in Harry and Paul - the expensive st shop one.

Thing is, the people who carry it out aren't health proffesionals!!!.

Would you take your dog to someone who wasnt a vet if it was ill? - no?, exactly so why allow your missus to go to some brainwashed hippy who likes "touching" her ???

"oh yeh man, its like I poke you here and I can tell that whether you have an allergey to wheat" PMSL.

Tell your wife to give you the money to re-align her chakras....

Then light a jostick and bang up the batty!

You're always guaranteed a response like this from certain sections. I suppose Tai Chi and meditation are also filed under "hippy crap" in your small minded world?

Just hope you never get ill and find that "conventional" medicine cant fix you. Of course, you'll just stay ill and possibly deteriorate if that were the case, because anything non-conventional must be "hippy crap".

I'll take my chances with the health proffessionals thanks, you know the ones who went to uni and have experience in keeping people healthy, not the hippys who do it for their ego / to make a buck 'o' 2.

"Is anyone on this plane a doctor, this mans having a heart attack"

"Make Way, I am a Herbalist- this man needs parsley and thyme to bring him around"

Get real

Edited by hman on Tuesday 14th October 14:03

[off_again]

Scratch tests were 'in' a few years ago and I had them as a kid. They claimed it would identify what the causes were and my parents changed quite a lot to address this. Didn't really prove anything.

Subsequently they were debunked for being very inaccurate. However, they are definitely back 'in' again and you will find several Dr's and specialists offering this type of test. However, it for sensitivity and not necessarily intolerance's to food types. In some cases they might work, but I suspect not - how can a scratch test identify if you are alergic to wheat? You need to eat the stuff....

Personally I think they are a bit rubbish. Never worked for me. My son recently had them on the off chance they might help, they didn't. For some they work, but you are just as well to speak to a complementary medicine person - what do you call them? Brain fade.... argh....

[ukwill]

hman said:

ukwill said:

hman said:

ooo000ooo said:

You could go and see a Kinesiologist. My OH and a couple of her mates have been to see one and she identified allergies/intolerances to different food stuffs just by poking different bits of her body. One of her mates has been using one for a few years and by following her advice has gone from using an asthma inhaler daily to using it once very 6 months.
All sounded a bit to me, especially when she talked about having her chakras realigned but seems to be working for the OH (wheat allergy/intolerance apparently)

bunch of hippy crap, it sounds like that sketch in Harry and Paul - the expensive st shop one.

Thing is, the people who carry it out aren't health proffesionals!!!.

Would you take your dog to someone who wasnt a vet if it was ill? - no?, exactly so why allow your missus to go to some brainwashed hippy who likes "touching" her ???

"oh yeh man, its like I poke you here and I can tell that whether you have an allergey to wheat" PMSL.

Tell your wife to give you the money to re-align her chakras....

Then light a jostick and bang up the batty!

You're always guaranteed a response like this from certain sections. I suppose Tai Chi and meditation are also filed under "hippy crap" in your small minded world?

Just hope you never get ill and find that "conventional" medicine cant fix you. Of course, you'll just stay ill and possibly deteriorate if that were the case, because anything non-conventional must be "hippy crap".

I'll take my chances with the health proffessionals thanks, you know the ones who went to uni and have experience in keeping people healthy, not the hippys who do it for their ego / to make a buck 'o' 2.

"Is anyone on this plane a doctor, this mans having a heart attack"

"Make Way, I am a Herbalist- this man needs parsley and thyme to bring him around"

Get real

Edited by hman on Tuesday 14th October 14:03

And what will you do if conventional medicine doesn't have an answer?

Where do you think "conventional" medicine originates from? tablets? There are innumerous drugs in circulation that have herbs listed as their main ingredient.

Although I suppose that they are ok to take because they are in tablet form and available on the NHS.

Still, there are those so blind that they cannot see.

[oldbanger]

Iain328 said:

Crap.

One of my kids is very allergic to nuts so both of them have had extensive skin-prick tests. Basically they prick the skin on your arm & drop essence of egg/wheat/nuts/pollens/cats/dogs/horse (you name it!) on the spot and then see what happens.

Yep, had a barrage of prick tests as a kid on the NHS. However, many docs swear blind that they don't exist. I remember also being told at one point that they'd been banned for a while due to the risks of anaphylicatic shock.

Elimination diets are also a good way of testing for food intolerances, if you've got the motivation to do it properly. Do a google search for more info.

Note, many modern (safer) tests for dietary allergies/intolerances look for the presence of antibodies to the substance in your body, so if it's something you already avoid, then you'll test negative. You have to go back to eating them for a good while before the test.

Edited by oldbanger on Tuesday 14th October 14:53

[ooo000ooo]

[quote=hman
Thing is, the people who carry it out aren't health proffesionals!!!.


[/quote]

Considering a "health professional" recently told an elderly mate he had prostate cancer, advised him to make sure his affairs were in order and told him if he had any more questions to look it up on the internet. (A second opinion found no sign of cancer)
I don't see any harm in letting an enthusiastic amateur have a poke

[hman]

ooo000ooo said:

[quote=hman
Thing is, the people who carry it out aren't health proffesionals!!!.

Considering a "health professional" recently told an elderly mate he had prostate cancer, advised him to make sure his affairs were in order and told him if he had any more questions to look it up on the internet. (A second opinion found no sign of cancer)
I don't see any harm in letting an enthusiastic amateur have a poke

on your own head be it.

[V12Les]

Rags said:

Good, we are getting somewhere.

I guess my next question is, how reliable are they, do they cover many food groups and whats the £cost?

Not very! My OH had two tests by different outfits and got two conflicting results. Can only speak as find.