Interpreting Our RAST Test Results

I still don't quite understand how the RAST test works.  Some numbers are higher than others, but some of our lower numbered test result items garner larger reactions.  Whatever!  I give up trying to understand a lot of the results.  However, we had some surprising and encouraging news when our latest test results came in.  Even our doctors were shocked at how low some of Bee's numbers had dropped.  So, whatever all the results mean, we are headed in the right direction.  Here's our current break down:

Rice-our control - 1.69  safe
Mango - 1.26  safe
Egg yolk - 2  questionable  We'll wait on trying this
Melon - .54  Should be safe right?  But when Bee eats watermelon she breaks out in a rash.  Avoiding all melons for now.
Walnut - 4.15  unsafe
Oat - 7.85  unsafe  We're back off oatmeal for now.  Darn!
Almond - 26.2  very unsafe  We know that this allergy is life-threatening for Bee.  Had some experience with this one.

These items were all new items that were not in our previous RAST tests.

We also tested for some foods that we tested over a year ago.  Here is a comparison:

Egg white - 16 - Down from 65
Milk - 14 - Down from 54
Wheat - 47 - Down from greater than 100
Sesame - 20.5 - Down from 53
Peanut - 27 - Down from 73.8
Soy - 9.6 - Down from 27

We've seen some major improvements in her numbers and we are hopeful that eventually some of these allergies will be outgrown.  For now, we know we are on the right track.

And here is a comparison of her total IgE levels from one year ago, six months ago, and present.

Total IgE - Original test 3100
6 months ago - 1188
Present - 419

So encouraging!  Bee's results should be less than 100, so we're not there yet.  But 419 is so much better than 3100.  Her doctors could not believe how much her numbers had dropped.

We hope to test again in 6 months for at least some of these foods.