how accurate are allergy tests?

[violetkiss]

How accurate are allergy tests?
I had about 4 allergy tests done, skin and blood and they come back im allergic to so many things i dont even know what to eat. the doctors told me to ignore it cause they arent reliable. i would like to know if this true?
my allergys were class 2 and positive to like 35/50 foods!

[violetkiss]

thanks, yea i don't know, im not celiac cause i got tested for that. I was off gluten and wheat for a year then just added it back into my diet. i know corn im allergic to. but all the other things are just crazy and i am reacting to so much even potatos! i think i have leaky gut syndrome

[tschock]

Nothing is 100%.

When it comes to allergy testing, it can also depend on who does the testing and reads the results.

When my 17 year old was tested at the age of 5 we watched them do the testing. The nurse placed numbers on all of the sites. In his case, the number 4 was cats and the number 6 was dogs...

When the doctor came in and read it, he said that my son was clearly allergic to cats...BUT the test site was that for the dogs.

I mentioned this to him and he said to get rid of the cats anyway...he called them nasty little creatures.

So I guess it all depends?

Interesting to know which foods. If they were all foods that contained gluten then you may have Celiac disease...an allergy to gluten.
These include wheat related products such as pasta, bread, etc.

Foods such as onion, garlic, and eggs contain sulfa ( not to be confused with sulphur )...and if you are allergic  to these foods, then you are quite possibly allergic to sulfa drugs such as Septra.

Here is some info from a government site...hope it's useful to you.

The prick skin test may also be used to diagnose food allergies. Intradermal tests are not used to test for food allergies because of high false-positive results and the danger of causing a severe allergic reaction.

A negative test result means there were no skin changes in response to the allergen. This negative reaction most often means that you are not allergic to the substance.

Rarely, a person may have a negative allergy test and still be allergic to the substance.
People can have a positive response to a substance with allergy skin testing, but not have any problems with that substance in everyday life.

Skin tests are usually accurate. However, if the dose of allergen is large, even people who are not allergic will have a positive reaction.

Hope that helps.
I find that the best way to determine food allergies is to eat the same thing for a couple of days.
If there is no reaction ( bloating, hives, stomach cramps, diarrhea, etc )
then move onto the next food that you think you are having problems with.

If you experience a rash, wait until the rash has cleared before you try the next group of foods.

I know it's hard, but try to limit the food to one or two items at a time.

Eat potatoes, carrots, and fish tonight ( Or whatever ). No spices, as it may be the spices that are causing the problems.

Within 24 hours ( usually much less time for ingested allergies ) you will know if that's what is causing it.

If I eat pasta I begin to bloat, have chest pains, etc within 15 minutes to an hour after eating.
However...I don't know if I really have a problem with the grains or because most pasta is made with eggs...which I KNOW I'm allergic to.
So that can make things difficult.

Initially it's best to eat unmixed things...like vegetables, fruit, meat, etc...things that are NOT made from other ingredients...like pasta, pizza, hamburgers.

Good luck, and hope this has helped.