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Skin test negative, blood test positive

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Allergies
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Posted 6/26/2017 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

about 10 years ago my eye or a part of my lip would swell when eating random foods. It swelled when i ate cheesecake, a raspberry pastry, even drinking passion fruit juice to name a few. I went to an allergist in 2014 and got an allergy test, both the skin test and blood test. It was negative for all the foods i was tested for. My lip still swelled randomly so I went back a couple weeks ago and got the same tests. The skin test were all negative but now the blood test shows some reaction to lobster, shrimp, and crayfish. I'm shocked because although i dont eat shrimp often, i had some about a month ago and everything seemed fine. Has this happened to anyone? One of my biggest fear is anaphylaxis. So i guess now i have to make sure i know if shellfish is an ingredient in the foods i eat.
Posted 6/26/2017 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
Blood tests aren't very accurate. I tested positive in blood tests for peanuts but eat them and peanut butter all the time with no reaction.

I believe the skin tests though!

Start keeping a food journal. There are many threads and posts on this subject. Put the words in the search box at the top of the page.

If you ate shrimp with no reaction I don't see any reason to give it up. I'm not a doctor!!! I didn't give up peanut butter though.

There are so many ingredients in the cheesecake and other foods you mentioned. Maybe you have a problem with some fruits or salicylates.

Since your reaction is pretty dangerous - swelling of lips could be swelling of esophagus or airway really fast if you get a reaction - I wouldn't recommend self testing. An allergist can have you try eating foods in the office in increasing doses to look for a reaction and it's safe there.

I would think you just didn't get tested with the skin test for the right ingredient. They don't test for everything at once. Make a list of everything you reacted to and take that to the allergist. Also google your list with the words "food allergies." That was how I found the trigger in my list of foods. I don't react to the foods you mentioned, so I'm sure we don't have the same allergy. But the method helps a lot of people, so start your journal!
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