Are Wheat Patch Tests Accurate ?

[pat0301]

My wheat patch test came back positive along with oat. Doctor said to limit wheat but that i can still have it.Are these tests accurate.

[ravenwoodglass]

For allergies yes, for intolerances no. Allergies are a histamine reaction and intolerances are a antibody reaction. If the patch test produced blisters you may have DH. If the area is very itchy you may want to consider going to a derm and having them biopsy the area next to the lesion looking for DH, the skin form of celiac.

[pat0301]

Is my doctor right that i can still eat wheat even with a allergy to it? We tested because i always feel bloated and constipated. my scratch tests were negative to oat, wheat rye, barley now he wants to do all patch tests to these because of my positive reactions. I am dq7,dq7 Thank-you for your repley.

[ravenwoodglass]

I would stay away from it and from gluten. Are they telling you that you are not celiac because your not DQ2 or DQ8? Is that why they are allergy testing? Not all celiacs have one of those two genes. There are those of us that are not 2 or 8 and are still celiac. Even if you are classed as 'gluten intolerant' you really need to be just as strict with the gluten-free diet.

[pat0301]

Thanks again for your reply. This all started with testing my 10 year old son he is 2 years behind in growth and very thin below 5th percentile. All his celiac blood work is negative but he also has a very low iga 78 norm is 70-300. His gi doc wants to do a biopsy and i really don't so i figure if he is allergic to wheat and can't eat it then we will go with that.His entro lab results were 0202, 0301 and mine dq7, dq7 they say we are both gluten sensitive. My son just recently tested positive to soy allergy, weeds and trees. We will be patch testing him next week. I only had wheat and oat tested and both mine were positive. Any advice you can give would be great about next steps to take.

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks again for your reply. This all started with testing my 10 year old son he is 2 years behind in growth and very thin below 5th percentile. All his celiac blood work is negative but he also has a very low iga 78 norm is 70-300. His gi doc wants to do a biopsy and i really don't so i figure if he is allergic to wheat and can't eat it then we will go with that.His entro lab results were 0202, 0301 and mine dq7, dq7 they say we are both gluten sensitive. My son just recently tested positive to soy allergy, weeds and trees. We will be patch testing him next week. I only had wheat and oat tested and both mine were positive. Any advice you can give would be great about next steps to take.

Allergy testing will not diagnose celiac because it is not an allergy. Not that it does not have value for true allergies it just won't give you any answers where gluten is concerned. If you don't want to biopsy then the best thing you can do is just to go gluten free for a month or preferably two to see if it makes a difference health wise. With the low IGA there is a good chance that your son's test would have been a false negative even if he is celiac. My son had severe growth stunting from celiac and I just wish I had known when he was ten what I do now. Please give the diet a good strict try for you both. Your bodies can sometimes give the answer that testing cannot. Going on the diet will not effect testing for a wheat allergy, it only effects testing for celiac or gluten intolerance.

[kemahaney]

Allergy testing will not diagnose celiac because it is not an allergy. Not that it does not have value for true allergies it just won't give you any answers where gluten is concerned. If you don't want to biopsy then the best thing you can do is just to go gluten free for a month or preferably two to see if it makes a difference health wise. With the low IGA there is a good chance that your son's test would have been a false negative even if he is celiac. My son had severe growth stunting from celiac and I just wish I had known when he was ten what I do now. Please give the diet a good strict try for you both. Your bodies can sometimes give the answer that testing cannot. Going on the diet will not effect testing for a wheat allergy, it only effects testing for celiac or gluten intolerance.

I tested positive for wheat allergy on the scratch test. My skin was on fire and i wanted to cry becuase it hurt so bad. I did get the blood test and it came back positive also. I have been working on cutting out Gluten for the last 5 months and finally I have gotten it. It takes a lot of practice and being picky. Now if I have anything with gluten in it even trace amounts I get violently ill about 4 hours later. The next day I am bloated and have a migraine.

Since going Gluten free my stomach issues have been reduced, my headaches are almost non-existant(except when I slip).

[ravenwoodglass]

I tested positive for wheat allergy on the scratch test. My skin was on fire and i wanted to cry becuase it hurt so bad. I did get the blood test and it came back positive also. I have been working on cutting out Gluten for the last 5 months and finally I have gotten it. It takes a lot of practice and being picky. Now if I have anything with gluten in it even trace amounts I get violently ill about 4 hours later. The next day I am bloated and have a migraine.

Since going Gluten free my stomach issues have been reduced, my headaches are almost non-existant(except when I slip).

Welcome to the board, it sounds like you are both allergic and celiac at the same time. I am glad you have had such good results from the diet.