Food Challenge

Bee's latest lab results showed her IgE levels had dropped significantly.  A few of her foods were barely on the "allergic scale."  I've been questioning her allergies to a few foods for a while now and decided that we might want to try a food challenge.
I called one of my friends who has a severely allergic child and asked for details of the food challenges that she has done with her son.  They sounded LONG and miserable with 4+ hours at the doctor's office a day for each food you test.  She also explained how she had done some at home with her doctor's knowledge.  The at-home test sounded much better for us.
So we made a decision to try a couple of the foods that were her smallest allergens.
We began by rubbing some of the food around her mouth.  Thirty minutes later she got a bit.  Every thirty minutes or so I would give her a few bites and watch her.  At the first sign of hives we would stop and take some Zyrtec.
First up on the list was oatmeal.  Bee passed with flying colors and has been enjoying oatmeal and homemade granola bars ever since.
Next we decided to try some beans.  The first bean we tested was white beans and again Bee passed.  She has enjoyed some spicy bean dip on several occasions now.
We're also going to work toward corn and other types of beans.  After that I might be brave and test avocado again and see if that allergy has disappeared yet.  But for now, we're enjoying a few more foods that used to be contraband in our house.