Wednesday, April 18, 2012

uKnow Peanut Allergy Test

Phadia announces first-ever commercial availability of peanut allergen component tests


uKnow Peanut Test™, a new, more precise peanut allergy test, provides physicians and patients molecular level clarity to aid in the diagnosis and help assess the risk of allergic reaction to peanut


Phadia announces first-ever commercial availability of peanut allergen component tests - Phadia - Setting the Standard - Phadia.com

My allergist has been talking about this for the past few months, as it was recenlty made available in the US.  The issue right now is cost, it's not currently covered by insurance.  Apparently it's been used in Europe for sometime.  The test isolates the specific proteins, 'Ara', which peanuts have 8 Ara I believe.  Allergies to certain Ara are harmless, while other Ara are deadly.  With this test the idea is to know how dangerous your peanut allergy really is, and if it's necessary to avoid them.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Good News, Bad News

We headed South for spring break and enjoyed some fun in the sun.  My almost six year old decided it was time to swim without floaties, and spent about four hours each day swimming which proved to build up quite the appetite each evening.  One night he ate six slices of pizza, and neither we nor the waitstaff could believe our eyes as he scarfed it down.  We were pretty laxed on this trip, letting him eat most anything he wanted within reason and we also weren't very stringent on taking the daily dose of Flovent for asthma control.  The doctor has told us in the past that it's ok to take a break and see how things go.

The good news is that the eczema has been non-existant, and while we were on our trip there were no bouts of asthma.  However the bad news is that after we arrived home he was wheezing within an hour.  The house had been closed up for a week and the air seemed a bit heavy, which my husband made mention of, too.  Then three days later while at a birthday party he ate the frosting off a store bought cupcake that had a zillion bad ingredients in it, and I noticed him scratching followed by wheezing.  A dose of benedryl cleared him up.

We'll get back into our routine of making sure he gets at least one dose of Flovent a day.  I also snagged a cupcake to go so we'll try a NAET treatment for that as well.  He did do a treatment recently for 'muscous membranes.' I know he's so very relieved that the itching has subsided, but I'd much rather have the asthma vanish forever.  Nothing is scarier than watching your child struggle to breathe.