I'm having a difficult time getting a straight answer on the best type of allergy testing and at what age they do them.
My two year old is allergic to basically anything living and now has asthma. We need to get him tested after the holidays and are wondering a few things:

1. What is the most effective type of testing for a toddler (scratch, blood)?

2. What do they do after they've found the allergies? Can you do allergy shots this young?? Would something like allergra work? He's already taking Pulmicort and Singulair for his asthma.

Thanks so much!!! I can't wait to have this all as second nature, it's very difficult!!

Yikes, at 2 you probably need to find a good pediatric allergist to answer these questions. I know that for older kids and adults it's not a matter of "best" test. Allergists typically start with the skin tests on the back (least painful, less sensitive) and move to "intradermal" tests (slightly more painful but more sensitive) if the skin tests are negative or inconclusive. I've had the blood tests done as well but only for the high-level presence of IGe, not for specific allergens - it's more expensive and I've never had an allergist see the need to take the testing that far. I've read of kids as young as 1 who are getting allergy shots but don't know how common that is.

As for what to take, Claritin makes over-the-counter pediatric syrup that you can get just about anywhere and it's labeled for kids over the age of 2. It might end up being cheaper, and less of a hassle, than Allegra which is prescription only.

If you child is already on Singulair and Pulmicort (prescribed by a pulmonolgist I hope), you should probably ask that doctor to recommend a good pediatric allergist. If they were prescribed by your pediatrician I'd recommend finding a good pulmonologist and allergist who work with kids - some of this allergy/asthma stuff gets pretty complicated (and is usually intertwined) and it's worth the extra effort to find a specialist.

By the way, one of the things that contributes to/aggravates asthma symptoms in kids (and adults) is acid reflux - stomach acid irritates the mucus membranes of the esophagus and causes asthma flare ups, if your doctor hasn't tried to address that you should ask about it.

Good luck.

Thank you so much, that was all really helpful information. The pediatrician is the one to go to in this area if your kid has allergies or asthma, but he's not neccesarily a specialist. We saw a specialist (who prescribed the pulmicort) when we were visiting my in laws and he had an asthma episode that lasted several days, but I really do need to find one here. I'm not sure why my ped. keeps wanting to do the blood test before sending him to a specialist, but we have a PPO so I should make the appointment.
Thank you again for your thorough reply!