Patch Results 2013

Last week, we Patch Tested Aidan again, in an attempt to find some foods that are safe for trial.  It's been a year since we tried pork, and although that trial was pretty awful, we know we have to get back on the horse eventually.

Night 2 - I'm a little nervous that the tape won't last another day.  I'm sending a roll of tape to daycare with instructions to tape him like crazy if need be.

Night 3 - It's Removal Time!  Reinforcements not required - the tape held up!

The two days spent with patches on were pretty uneventful - not much to say, other than that we were anxious about the results.  Finally, Thursday arrived, and it was time to remove the patches.  It proved to be more difficult than last year due to the aforementioned hairy toddler back.  Sorry, Little Bear.

One thing was immediately clear when we got the patches off: He was itchy!

Sorry for the blurry picture.  His teeny little toddler fingers are just too cute for words.

  

I'll do you the distinct favor of cutting to the chase.  After we cleaned off the crusted-on food, it was pretty easy to see the reactions vs. non-reactions.  I wish I'd gotten out my camera instead of relying on my phone, but it was a hectic night.

The right side grid shows some possibilities!  I see some blank spaces!

The allergist confirmed positive reactions to Milk, Egg, Soy, Broccoli, Wheat, Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Ham, Sweet, Potato, White Potato, Corn, Oat, Rice, Peach, and Carrot.  There was a mild reaction to Pear and no reaction to Apple, Banana, or Strawberry.

A1 - Milk, Egg, Soy, Broccoli, Wheat.  A2 - Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Ham, Sweet Potato.  B1 - Potato, Corn, Oat, Rice, Apple.  B2 - Banana, Peach, Pear, Strawberry, Carrot

The plan at that point was to run blood IgE levels on Banana, Strawberry, Apple, and Pear (since the reaction was mild).  Assuming those showed no IgE allergy, we would be cleared to trial any of those.  My thought was to start with Banana, then Strawberry, then Apple.  I'd probably save Pear for last, just because there WAS a reaction, even though it was mild.


But then it got a little tricky, because by Sunday night, things looked worse.  Some reactions calmed down - but others flared up.  Pear looked more like a legit reaction, and Apple looked less "safe".

A1 - Milk, Egg, Soy, Broccoli, Wheat.  A2 - Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Ham, Sweet Potato.  B1 - Potato, Corn, Oat, Rice, Apple.  B2 - Banana, Peach, Pear, Strawberry, Carrot

A1 - Milk, Egg, Soy, Broccoli, Wheat.  A2 - Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Ham, Sweet Potato.  B1 - Potato, Corn, Oat, Rice, Apple.  B2 - Banana, Peach, Pear, Strawberry, Carrot

So this leaves me to wonder - trick of the light?  Trick of my eyes?  Too late for it to even matter?  The Pear doesn't bother me, since I'd pretty much ruled out trialing it anytime soon - but Apple is another story.  It was patch positive last year, and I'd really like to know whether or not we're ok to trial it this year.  I tried taking a few different pictures under different lighting - at this point I don't even know what I'm looking at anymore.  My eyes are tired, my brain is tired, and I hate food :(

Update: We spoke to Allergy and confirmed that even 3 days later, the results do matter.  We won't be trialing Pears or Apples.  But we are still left with Bananas and Strawberries.

We will wait to hear that the bloodwork is ok (we don't expect any problems there, but we would rather be cautious than not) and then move forward with a Banana Trial.  Wish us luck!