I can't remember if I posted this elsewhere but DD has been working with rats all summer doing lab research. They hired her to work this fall too. The lab is on campus. A few weeks ago, she had a really bad asthma and skin reaction.
They are trying to figure it out. From what I have read online, 44% of people who work in research with rats will develop an allergy to them within 3 years. Take my kid who has a crazy immune system and boom! I am not surprised.
A quick blood test put her total IGE between 8-900 which is super low for her (typically 1300 plus) and class 2 for rat. DD thinks it is dust in the lab and not rat. Meanwhile, a few days later she had a food reaction to we don't know what that scared the crap out of us.
Her allergist is redoing all of her testing. 12 vials of blood yesterday! They were running very late so DD did not do the additional skin testing because she had a class to get to. She typically has huge skin reactions and false positives anyway.
I will be fascinated to see her results if she chooses to share with me. She is also considering going back to allergy shots for rats and dust and I am not sure what else. Allergy shots during high school and a couple years after lowered her total IGE and made it so she no longer needs additional allergy meds during tree pollen and ragweed seasons. She stopped because she was annoyed having to go while she had school. She is already complaining now because she can't sit for half an hour! She is too busy. Well, she has to start from the beginning so she will have to go often at first.
The school is providing her with high end masks for her time in the labs for both classes and for her job. Nice accommodation.
It's interestingly strange to be on this side of her treatment, not in the driving seat, balancing support and sharing info walking a tight rope of not saying what she should do but certainly having a very strong opinion.
Topic: Allergy Testing, New Rat Allergy (Read 874 times)
