Pros and cons of different allergy tests for kids
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Alan Greene, MD, Founder of DrGreene.com, shares advice for parents on the pros and cons for different allergies test available for children to take
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When a child has allergies, it can be a big problem for their life. It can affect their schoolwork, it can affect their learning, it can affect their behavior. And dealing with allergies can be tough. You can deal with just the symptoms, but that's not really satisfying and there's problems with that. Undertaking big avoidance can also be a problem just because it's hard to do with lifestyle. So it's very nice to have the data, if you can get it, of what your child is exactly allergic to. If they are allergic to dust mites, then dealing with getting dust mites out of the house is worth it. If they're not, that's a lot of effort for not much benefit. So, I'm a fan or allergy testing. If allergies are causing a real problem for your child, and particularly if they're already getting allergy treatment or it's affecting their schoolwork, go for the testing.
There's different types of testing and you should talk this through with your physician, what works the best. There's a simple blood test that just looks for antibodies to certain things. This means that your child has formed some response at some time in life to that thing. It doesn't mean it's causing symptoms now, but it's something that - it's a very quick and easy test. There's also the skin prick test, is the other most common test, and that's easier than it sounds. Put a tiny amount under the skin of lots of different allergens, and you see an actual reaction in the skin. And that gives you a different and other piece of information. So sometimes both is worthwhile, sometimes just one or the other is needed, it's one sorting out your particular case with a physician.
Alan Greene, MD, Founder of DrGreene.com, shares advice for parents on the pros and cons for different allergies test available for children to take
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Alan Greene, MDFounder, DrGreene.com
Dr. Alan Greene founded his website, DrGreene.com, in 1995, cited by the AMA as "the pioneer physician web site." In 2010 he founded the WhiteOut Now movement to change how babies are fed from their very first bite of solid food, and in 2012 he founded TICC TOCC – Transitioning Immediate Cord Clamping To Optimal Cord Clamping. He is an author of several books including Feeding Baby Green and appears frequently in the media including such venues as the The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, TODAY Show, Good Morning America, the Dr. Oz Show, and is a regular columnist for Parenting magazine. He is a practicing pediatrician and the father of four.
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