There rarely passes a week when you don't hear or see something related to allergies, and the larger trend recently seems to revolve a great deal around food allergies. Despite what seems to be a sharp increase in the number of children allergic to specific foods, a recent article in the journal Pediactrics<\/i> calls in to the question the use of modern allergy tests and how their overuse can be having a needlessly negative effect on children.<\/p>\n
_Lead authors, Scott Sicherer, MD and Robert Wood, MD suggest that with the current array of allergy tests commonly being used, relying strictly on the results of these in making a diagnosis leaves a lot of room for error. And with slight to dramatic lifestyle changes hinging upon the diagnosis of a potentially life threatening allergen, a more well rounded approach is advised.<\/p>\n
_Specifically, the researchers focued on the Skin Prick Test (SPT) and specific IgE (sIgE) blood test. A few interesting findings,
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‘Positive sIgE test results indicate sensitization, but are not equivalent to clinical allergy….<\/p>\n
_sIgE test results typically do not reflect the severity of allergies…<\/p>\n
_Allergy tests for sIgE must be selected and interpreted in the context of a clinical presentation; test relevance may vary according to the patient<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There rarely passes a week when you don't hear or see something related to allergies, and the larger trend recently seems to revolve a great deal around food allergies. Despite what seems to be a sharp increase in the number… <\/p>\n