Allergy testing a toddler

user2012

*Not looking for medical advice*

My toddler has broken out in spots in the last week. Nothing to be overly concerned about as he's eating, drinking, sleeping, playing as normal. Just a series of red spots along the mouth, nose & eyes that seem to flare up now & then.
I have an appointment with the doctor in the morning but I was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation? Will my gp be able to perform some kind of allergy test there & then? Is it usually a skin prick or will blood be taken? Is there anything I should ask for or request? Is going to my gp just a formality in order to get a letter of referral for a dermatologist?
As it's not causing any discomfort or anything I'm not worried about it however I do want to get to the root of the issue. As it stands I've cut out strawberries from his snacks. Nothing in our routine has changed, we didn't change washing powder, we haven't got the heating on much at all yet just half an hour before bedtime, everything has more or less stayed the same as always.
Really I'm at a loss as to what could be causing this & any online searches I do says it could take a few weeks or even months for the cause of the allergy to be isolated. Ideally I'd like to be told it's x,y or z causing the spots so I know then what exactly to eliminate & avoid.

Am I expecting too much or is it standard practise from yer experiences to get an answer fast?

Many thanks

monflat

I'd say that the spots would have to be causing a bit of discomfort before some docs would do something.
Depends on gp. If they are good r not so good.

January

IMO you're asking too much. GP will refer you to an allergy specialist if you ask for it.

user2012

Sorry January, do you mean I'm asking too much here or I am asking too much of my gp?

Monflat, I can understand if the spots were causing discomfort then I'd be looking at going to a specialist which is fine by me if that's the course of action needed, but what is usually the protocol for something like this?
Is it gp to see if it clears up & then push for a dermatologist or will a blood or skin prick test be automatically done regardless of the severity of the allergy?

monflat

user2012 wrote: »

Sorry January, do you mean I'm asking too much here or I am asking too much of my gp?

Monflat, I can understand if the spots were causing discomfort then I'd be looking at going to a specialist which is fine by me if that's the course of action needed, but what is usually the protocol for something like this?
Is it gp to see if it clears up & then push for a dermatologist or will a blood or skin prick test be automatically done regardless of the severity of the allergy?

Well I'm not a gp but I gather they will ask you a lot of questions about this and then decide.
There maybe a period where gp says we will "wait and see " all gps differ and they may have seen skin conditions like that quite regularly.

However you do seem to be worried about it so if you prefer ask for a second opinion by being referred to a dermatologist.

January

GP won't order blood tests/skin prick for an allergy, you will have to referred to a specialist if you want that done.

user2012

Thank you both.
If anyone else has any experience of something similar I'd really appreciate if you could share your account of it.

I'm worried in the sense that there's obviously something that's causing this reaction, what it is I don't know. But naturally I'd prefer to get it sorted as soon as possible. As I said it's not causing any discomfort but it's still something I'd like to get looked at & rectified as soon as possible. Hopefully my gp won't suggest the wait & see approach however I have a feeling that's exactly the answer I'll get tomorrow

Many thanks again.

pwurple

Allergy clinic is in the hospital. They do skin prick tests, but they are fairly targeted. A blood test will confirm the skin test.

To be honest, you are much better off having a rough idea what is triggering it if it is an allergy. Otherwise the child will be like a pin cushion trying to figure out what it is. We knew we had a nut allergy. So many nuts had to be tested for!

It might not even be an allergy at all.

You could try a food diary... I did this for a while. Write down everything they eat. How much and what time. Note down the reactions too, and you might start to see a pattern. For us, reaction appeared between 20 mins and 1 hr after the food was eaten. That info would help direct the tests.

farmchoice

the doc may well say wait and see, and this is probably the best course of action. the spots may well go away and never come back or come back in a month and go away and then never come back, kids get all sorts of things like this and unless it’s causing pain or discomfort or is recurring a lot its best to just wait and see what happens. its most likely some virus.

people often rush to think that stuff like this is an allergy to something. our little fella had childhood eczema from about 6 months to 3. at times it was pretty bad and we tried every cream and cream combo under the sun. some family members were convinced it was an allergic reaction to something or another. well it never stopped, cut out this add back in this and it was a load of rubbish. as the doctor said at the start ''its childhood eczema treat it as best you can and it will almost certainly grow out of it, and that what happened.

user2012

Just back from the doctor.
It's a virus! Nothing can be done but to wait it out but at least I know now what I'm dealing with. Peace of mind is a great thing
Having dealt with eczema a few times already I just assumed it was an allergic reaction to something in his diet because according to google eczema & food allergies go hand in hand. Apparently he's had a good few kids in with the same complaint over the last couple of weeks.
Anyway panic over, thank god

Many thanks for the replies