Food Allergy Skin-Test Needles
January 17, 2006 2:17 PM Subscribe
Where can I find allergy skin-test needles to prick my skin?
I have food allergies and was recently told by my doctor (after a blood test) that I am not, in fact, allergic to shrimp, even though I've thought I was allergic to shrimp my entire life. I was a bit suspicious of the diagnosis so I gave myself a skin test with a safety pin and some shrimp juice. It worked, but I'd like to do it again with the proper little tool that doctors use to give skin tests. They are small and somewhat screw-shaped, from what I remember. I'd rather not ask my doctor because he'll either ask me to come back in and do more tests (which is expensive and not necessary) or he'll tell me I'm an idiot, which maybe I am. I'd just like to have some around so that when I'm not sure about something, I can give myself a skin test and see if I'm allergic to it. Anybody have any idea what I'm talking about or where I could purchase a bag or box of these little screw-like needles that burrow the allergen under the skin?
I have food allergies and was recently told by my doctor (after a blood test) that I am not, in fact, allergic to shrimp, even though I've thought I was allergic to shrimp my entire life. I was a bit suspicious of the diagnosis so I gave myself a skin test with a safety pin and some shrimp juice. It worked, but I'd like to do it again with the proper little tool that doctors use to give skin tests. They are small and somewhat screw-shaped, from what I remember. I'd rather not ask my doctor because he'll either ask me to come back in and do more tests (which is expensive and not necessary) or he'll tell me I'm an idiot, which maybe I am. I'd just like to have some around so that when I'm not sure about something, I can give myself a skin test and see if I'm allergic to it. Anybody have any idea what I'm talking about or where I could purchase a bag or box of these little screw-like needles that burrow the allergen under the skin?
When I had skin tests (MAST) the doctor just made little scratches in my skin with a needle or something that didn't go subcutaneous. You've clearly encountered something different, but apparently there are different sorts of allergy tests. That page I linked to on the Mayo Clinic site seems to say that intracutaneous tests aren't really for things like food allergies and scratch tests will work fine. Check the list on that page to see other reasons why allergy tests might not work.
Keep in mind that there may be other reasons you might have adverse reactions to shrimp besides a straight-on allergy. Is there any reason you really need to do this sort of self-allergy test more than once or twice? I'd suggest either a second medical opinion or a visit to a nutritionist of doctor #1 isn't answering your questions or addressing your concerns about food allergies properly.
posted by jessamyn at 4:00 PM on January 17, 2006
Keep in mind that there may be other reasons you might have adverse reactions to shrimp besides a straight-on allergy. Is there any reason you really need to do this sort of self-allergy test more than once or twice? I'd suggest either a second medical opinion or a visit to a nutritionist of doctor #1 isn't answering your questions or addressing your concerns about food allergies properly.
posted by jessamyn at 4:00 PM on January 17, 2006
Response by poster: Well, I've had allergies all my life and I've always been very good with recognizing how my body reacts to certain allergens. I am not worried about anaphylaxis from a scratch test. When I was younger I would have these subcutaneous skin tests (and just external scratch tests) all the time, with substances that my doctor thought were going to kills me, so even though I know it should be supervised, I feel confident performing my own scratch tests. As you say, it's just scratching the skin and rubbing an allergen in it. This looks like a good description from your link, jessamyn: After cleaning the test site with alcohol, the nurse draws small marks on your skin and applies a drop of allergen extract next to each mark. He or she then uses a sharp instrument (lancet) to introduce the extracts into the skin's surface. A new lancet is used for each scratch to prevent cross-contamination of allergens. The drops are left on your skin for 15 minutes and then the nurse observes your skin for signs of allergic reactions.
posted by billysumday at 4:21 PM on January 17, 2006
posted by billysumday at 4:21 PM on January 17, 2006
Here's why I think this is a bad idea. My immunology professor warned us about these tests.
For one to be allergic to something--say, a bee sting, or pollen, a blood type, or whatever--you must have been exposed to it once before. Your body is then sensitized to it, and next time you encounter it, the allergic reaction kicks in, be it anaphylaxis, allergies, or whatever.
By basically running your own allergen panel on yourself, you will be sensitizing your body to each of those allergens, thus giving yourself more allergies than you had when you started.
Yeah, a doctor running a panel can cause the same phenomena--but an allergist will be better able to narrow it down, based on experience and training, knowledge of which allergens can cross-react, and will have access to purified sera. You could be allergic to shrimp, or, depending on the symptoms, a bacteria that lives in shrimp, like Vibrio parahaemolyticus. (And don't think I haven't been dying to drop that name in a conversation.) Or, any host of other things associated with shrimp.
posted by Brian James at 4:47 PM on January 17, 2006
For one to be allergic to something--say, a bee sting, or pollen, a blood type, or whatever--you must have been exposed to it once before. Your body is then sensitized to it, and next time you encounter it, the allergic reaction kicks in, be it anaphylaxis, allergies, or whatever.
By basically running your own allergen panel on yourself, you will be sensitizing your body to each of those allergens, thus giving yourself more allergies than you had when you started.
Yeah, a doctor running a panel can cause the same phenomena--but an allergist will be better able to narrow it down, based on experience and training, knowledge of which allergens can cross-react, and will have access to purified sera. You could be allergic to shrimp, or, depending on the symptoms, a bacteria that lives in shrimp, like Vibrio parahaemolyticus. (And don't think I haven't been dying to drop that name in a conversation.) Or, any host of other things associated with shrimp.
posted by Brian James at 4:47 PM on January 17, 2006
my brother died of anaphylaxis and he was actually at an allergy clinic. do not mess around with allergies. my 2 cents.
posted by robink at 6:40 PM on January 17, 2006
posted by robink at 6:40 PM on January 17, 2006
this idea is beyond retarded. please consider the above comment.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 8:26 PM on January 17, 2006
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 8:26 PM on January 17, 2006
By basically running your own allergen panel on yourself, you will be sensitizing your body to each of those allergens, thus giving yourself more allergies than you had when you started.
Hang on a second. I agree that self-testing is not a good idea -- mostly because you always have the ability to stop breathing, which puts a damper on your day -- but if you get more sensitive every time you encounter an allergen, then how do desensitizing allergy shots work?
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:23 AM on January 18, 2006
Hang on a second. I agree that self-testing is not a good idea -- mostly because you always have the ability to stop breathing, which puts a damper on your day -- but if you get more sensitive every time you encounter an allergen, then how do desensitizing allergy shots work?
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:23 AM on January 18, 2006
If you know that shrimp is harmful to you, then don't eat it. Why do you need the skin test? Doing it yourself isn't going to convice anyone else (especially not a doctor) and you already know the answer. Is there something I'm missing.
posted by winston at 10:05 AM on January 18, 2006
posted by winston at 10:05 AM on January 18, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phearlez at 2:59 PM on January 17, 2006