I am currently awaiting the RAST results for C. Hopefully I will get a call in the next day or so. In the meantime I have been thinking about the importance of having this done on a yearly basis. When R. was first diagnosed with a peanut allergy we did not have a RAST done. I really did not know anything about them. Since we did a good job of avoiding nuts, we went through 2 1/2 years not really knowing the severity to R's allergy. I did not really worry that much about his allergy. Our pre school was already peanut free and the nanny at the time totally "got it."
Looking back I think I have been a little too liberal in allowing him to have some baked goods. He has never had never suspicious cookies or brownies ,as they often can hide nuts. But I let him have birthday cake and sugar cookies. I guess we are lucky we have not had any accidents.
After my baby was diagnosed with number of allergies I started to really educate myself. When R. turned 4 I decided to have a check up with the allergist and get a RAST test. That is when we found out that his peanut allergy is a 99.8 . The only problem is that I have no previous test to compare. I wish I had - so I would know if it is the same or has gotten worse.
I would advise anyone to get the RAST test done in addition to the scratch test. It is a good way to track the progression of their allergy from year to year. This information will not necessarily tell you what will happen if there is an accidental exposure. Every child is different and reactions can vary each time. We need to be prepared for everything from eczema and hives to full blown anaphylaxis.
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