Rosalie B. wrote:
My dad was violently (as in debilitating migraines) allergic to
mustard and bananas. I have some allergies to pollen, dust etc.

My niece has just posted that her son has just been taken to the ER
again and this time for a reaction to mango. I don't know what else
he has allergies to, except peanuts. My sister has to know how to use
an epi-pen if she babysits, and my niece's family severely restricts
trips that they will go on because of her son's allergies.

My dd#3 has just informed me that her daughter has tested positive for
gluten sensitivity. Also she has 2 genes meaning that dd#3 has at
least one gene and our SIL has one. She suggested that we might want
to consider looking into some of this stuff and possibly consider
getting tested.

If she has two copies of a particular allele (an allele is a particular
version of a gene), then you must have one. You say you're allergic to
pollen, dust, etc.

In addition, you say that your granddaughter has "tested positive for
gluten sensitivity."

I get the real fealing that these are some tests that don't give a lot
of useful answers. In fact, I am wondering if the testing is a waste of
money that only misleads people or gives them false expectations of what
will happen clinically later.

I really doubt that the tests offer much clinically useful information.

I don't know what benefit testing would have for us. How worried
should I be about it?


I don't think I would worry a bit. Avoid dusty situations, pollen, etc.
But really, I don't think that genetic testing has been shown to be
useful clinically for this. (It is useful, for example, learning that a
child has the alleles for cystic fibrosis, so that the child can be
treated early, before lung damage or malnutrition set in.) However, in
the case of a grandmother, I don't see what knowing your genotype (which
alleles or versions of a gene you have) will add to your knowledge of
your health.

Allergies rarely come along suddenly. You have had a lot of years to
come up with new allergies. I doubt you have anything to worry about.

DH is lactose intolerant and one of my
granddaughters has a small amount of that too but I don't know of any
other problems.

Lactose is the sugar in milk. Most people are not able to digest lactose
during adulthood. The ancestors of different people in the world,
including some in the Middle East and Europe, evolved in such a way
that they continue to make the enzyme, lactase, that breaks down
lactose. So the people who are able to digest lactose are mutants
(mutants just means they have a mutation - we're all mutants or we would
all be the same).

Lactose intolerance is a condition (notice I don't say disease) that had
absolutely nothing to do with allergies or the immune system. All it has
to do with is whether a particular gene is expressed resulting in the
lactase being released into the small intestine. It has no bearing
whatsoever on allergies, to be the best of my knowledge.

As far as your health is concern, I wouldn't worry about. Allergy
testing or genetic testing won't help you a bit.

As far as your granddaughter, what does her doctors say? I know she
didn't come home from daycare and say, "Hey mom. I wonder if I have the
alleles (or genes) for allergies. Can we please go to the doctor, so the
nurse can draw blood so I can find out?" The bottom line is that without
knowing the whole clinical situation, it is really hard to say how
useful individual or groups of tests are.

Jeff