Allergy Testing

[Twoxxmom]

Just wondering what experience people have had with allergy testing and possible further testing if wheat shows up as an allergen. I am scheduled to see an allergy doc in about a week and a half after my dermatologist has been unable to figure out what to do with me. Biopsy on lesion showed contact allergy dermatitis. Any advice? Should I be seeing a different kind of doc? The diagnosis phase seems much harder than just going gluten-free.

[mushroom]

Just wondering what experience people have had with allergy testing and possible further testing if wheat shows up as an allergen. I am scheduled to see an allergy doc in about a week and a half after my dermatologist has been unable to figure out what to do with me. Biopsy on lesion showed contact allergy dermatitis. Any advice? Should I be seeing a different kind of doc? The diagnosis phase seems much harder than just going gluten-free.

I think you need a new dermatologist who knows how to biopsy for DH. A biopsy ON the lesion is rarely positive; the sample needs to be taken from the skin immediately adjacent to an active lesion. You could well be allergic to wheat, too, but if you do have DH you wouldnl't be touching wheat anyway. When a biopsy is done for DH it requires a special staining technique. Just looking at the sample under a scope would not tell you anything, so if he did not specify DH then the procedure ON the lesion was worthless.

[Twoxxmom]

I think you need a new dermatologist who knows how to biopsy for DH. A biopsy ON the lesion is rarely positive; the sample needs to be taken from the skin immediately adjacent to an active lesion. You could well be allergic to wheat, too, but if you do have DH you wouldnl't be touching wheat anyway. When a biopsy is done for DH it requires a special staining technique. Just looking at the sample under a scope would not tell you anything, so if he did not specify DH then the procedure ON the lesion was worthless.

That's what I thought about the biopsy too. Do you think the allergy testing (with a different doctor, an allergist) will serve any purpose, or should I be seeing someone else?

[mushroom]

That's what I thought about the biopsy too. Do you think the allergy testing (with a different doctor, an allergist) will serve any purpose, or should I be seeing someone else?

It depends what you are hoping to learn from the allergist. I am not sure if you have had a celiac blood panel run? If you have not, I would start with that, and a new dermatologist as mentioned who knows how to do a DH biopsy. If you have some specific reason for allergy testing, i.e., you think you are having an allergic reaction to wheat, that wouold be important to khnow. As you probably know, celiac is an autoimmune reaction, not an allergic reaction.