Allergy Testing with CVID

[supersub70]

Hi,
Does anyone know if the pin prick allergy tests work with CVID patients? I'm pretty sure it's all connected and would like to go for some food based allergy testing. I'm thinking that due to my anti-bodies being shot to pieces that a test would work at all?

I'd like to test for a possible wheat intolerance/allergy....

[john]

Hiya,
I was pin-prick tested for allergy to penicillin a year or so ago, alongside 5 othr CVID patients.
I know nothing about testing for food allergies this way, but I bet there is a man on here who does!!
Enjoy the fine weather.... pretty sure I'm not allergic to Magnum Ice cream!!!

[s162216]

Because wheat/gluten intolerance (ceoliac disease) does not involve production of IgE antibodies (which are unaffected by CVID) and the subsequent 'arming' of mast cells to release histamine when it is encountered again, a skin test is not possible. The only real way of diagnosing ceoliac disease is to examine the micro-vili via gastroscopy etc (the blood test for ceoliac disease has to be confirmed by this anyway).
I should also point out that there is a skin biopsy test involving ceoliac disease but this is to test whether you've also got the rare associated dermatitis herpetiformis skin condition.

In some very rare cases a true wheat/gluten allergy with anaphylaxis, hives etc can develop which could be diagnosed like other true food allergies to nuts etc, but in your case thats not going to be what you want.

(I had the penicillin allergy skin tests a couple of years ago and they worked fine, I then had an oral challenge with it later just to be certain. It did help that 2 of the 3 immunology nurses at the QMC work in Allergy as well for most of the week)

Sam