Making It Official: Getting A Diagnosis Part 3

Once in the Dr. office they review info, reviewing any symptoms you are noticing, that have prompted you to make the appointment.

My one suggestion to help the Dr better understand what is going on, is to keep a journal. In an Environmental Allergy Journal you'll want to record all the activites you were doing prior to, as well as, when you noticed the symptoms. It would be good to include the food you've eaten for the day, because some food allergies manifest themselves in the same manner as an environmental allergy. If you think you have food allergies, keep a journal of all the food you eat, and the symptoms you experienced after. Both journals should have the time of  the activity/ food consumption, and the time you noticed the reaction as well as the date. If possible, include pictures for the Dr. to see exactly what you are experiencing physically.

After this, the Dr. or nurse will return with a tray full of  little “pins” in it. The pins are not actually anything that breaks the skin, and causes bleeding. The pin pricks the skin only enough to place a serum that contains the suspected allergen on the testing area so the skin can either react, or not.

At this point, if you are a parent, you need to be ready for two things:

1.) Your child is going to cry, they do not like having their back or arm poked at and they will expect you to make it stop. If you can mentally understand that you are doing what is best for your child it will go a LONG way in the actual appointment. as far as making it slightly easier for you. Either way, there will be a feeling of guilt. Every parent I know, every caretaker I‘ve seen that has ever taken their child in for a skin scratch test, leaves the Drs office, regardless of results, feeling guilty. Just know, that it is one of those things that needs to be done for their safety, and it is one of the ways we parents have to take care of our child.. No one wants to “torture” their child, but this is one of those times when it really feels like that is what you’re doing. In reality, it isn’t -- go against your "gut-feeling" on this one, because it is hard to watch them scratch test your child, but at this point, it’s the best way to get your child help.

2.) If they have allergies, and possibly even if they don’t, a person who gets these tests done itches! There is no way to sugar coat it-- you itch, everywhere! You want to find a corner of a wall, or find a backscratcher, and eventually it becomes a little annoying because you CANNOT scratch the tests. Be prepared to distract your child, and be prepared to hold your child at length, otherwise they'll lay on the floor, or against the wall to "scratch" those itching spots, and the test will be ruined. The process takes about half an hour, you'll not want to repeat it, and you will want to be prepared to distract your children.

When my girls go these are some of the things I do to make it easier:
1.) I bring a TON of toys -
I buy small new toys from the $1 section at Target, or the Dollar Store.
If buying toys is not an option one thing I have done is to "put away" some of their favorites, until the appointment a few days or week in advance, it'll be new again to them, if it's been a while since they last played with it.

2.) I let them have their Leapster (gaming device)
tip: if you need a video game device, or games for the device you have for your little ones, there are some incredibly good deals on your local Craigslist. Should you decide to buy new you may want to run an internet check for coupons they sometimes can cost is too much. It is a great distraction for our girls, and I love being able to find good deals on games online, and through coupon sites--some of which I have links to)

When the Nurse places the serum on the skin, you generally wait 20 minutes, I’ve waited up to 40 -- we all prefer 20! When they do the scratches, they mark what allergen they have placed at that part of your testing area. Some offices graph it out, like a checker board, others give a series of numbers, with the scratch next to it. Either way, you will have a good amount of writing on your testing area, and an equal amount of scratches. During the wait time, you’ll likely see blotches that become hives, that look red and swollen- similar to a "bad bug bite". That is both a good and a bad thing. It's bad because you likely have an allergy issue on your hands, but good because at least you’re getting answers. Make sure if you or your child experiences difficulty breathing, begin wheezing, vomitting, or experience "flu-like" symptoms of diarrhea, or a fever to call your nurse or Dr into the room immediately- these are all signs of anaphylaxis.