Expensive blood test

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My son has been having a rash keep coming up on his body for the last month, he as been having weekly visit to the hospital every week, and now the doctor want to do a blood test for "Food allergy screening test and or inhalation allergy screening test". I have been quoted about 75000 baht for this test which seems very expensive. I was wondering if anybody else have had this blood test and what did it cost them

[BEVUP]

That's maybe because it could take weeks to actually pin down, maybe mths

I think you could maybe try yourself by stopping certain products for a while

 

It may even be bed mites

 

The list is endless until found

 

 

 

 

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29 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

That's maybe because it could take weeks to actually pin down, maybe mths

I think you could maybe try yourself by stopping certain products for a while

 

It may even be bed mites

 

The list is endless until found

 

 

 

 

I understand that but I was told it would take week to get the results of the test and it might be possible that the blood test are not conclusive 

 

I am already trying to reduce certain things that I think bight be the problem

[Jip99]

Which hospital? 

 

Which doctor?

 

Do you have medical insurance ?

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1 minute ago, Jip99 said:

Which hospital? 

 

Which doctor?

 

Do you have medical insurance ?

Bangkok Hospital

Skin Specialist 

Yes have insurance but first time the hospital contacted them about the price they go a reply that it is not a sickness so they might not pay, I will get in contact with my broker tomorrow to try get them to sort it out 

I would still like to know about the skin test or weather better to have skin prick test

[DrNicha]

I order food intolerance test (IgG test) in many cases. The test provides result on about 200+ food items. It costs around 25,000 baht.

 

There are 2 types of reaction. 

1) IgE type, which causes immediate reactions (think of peanut or shellfish allergy). In this case, you will see in the symptoms within a few seconds-minutes of exposure, such as sudden onset of rash/swollen, breathing difficulties, to anaphylactic shock. Skin prick would be testing this type of reaction. There is also blood test available for IgE reaction. Food challenge would not be recommended in this case as it may do more harm than good.

 

2) IgG type, which causes delayed reactions (gluten/dairy allergy). The symptoms are more vague eg. unknown rash, headache, digestive symptom, fatigue, to general inflammation. The symptoms of IgG will develop hours - days after the exposure. Testing options are food intolerance blood test, elimination diet/food challenge test (requires no blood test and FREE, but takes time and effort to prepare your own foods)

 

Hope you find these information helpful! :)

  

[Sheryl]

On 1/9/2018 at 8:10 PM, offset said:

Bangkok Hospital

Skin Specialist 

Yes have insurance but first time the hospital contacted them about the price they go a reply that it is not a sickness so they might not pay, I will get in contact with my broker tomorrow to try get them to sort it out 

I would still like to know about the skin test or weather better to have skin prick test

Unless there is already an identified suspect food, testing by skin prick will be both time consuming and costly, because they will have to inject multiple times with different antigens. It will also be unpleasant for the child, and you will have to make multiple trips to the hospital.

 

The blood test is costly, but gives information rapidly on a wide range of antigens without the discomfort and inconvenience of multiple skin prick tests.

 

Insurance definitely should cover this (assuming you have out patient cover) so keep fighting on that.

[Rally123]

I assume your son is Leukrung. So I'll ask why are you paying when you can get a referral from the government hospital that he should be registered at and obtain the treatment basically free???

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On 19/01/2018 at 4:39 PM, Sheryl said:

Unless there is already an identified suspect food, testing by skin prick will be both time consuming and costly, because they will have to inject multiple times with different antigens. It will also be unpleasant for the child, and you will have to make multiple trips to the hospital.

 

The blood test is costly, but gives information rapidly on a wide range of antigens without the discomfort and inconvenience of multiple skin prick tests.

 

Insurance definitely should cover this (assuming you have out patient cover) so keep fighting on that.

They say it not cover the test (it is in the small print) but will still cover for any allergy treatment which seems strange because over time it might cost them more than the tests

 

We have been watching what he is eating (stopped him eating sugar etc.) and he seems not to have any more rashes for the last week if it comes back I will check what he as been eating

 

If it comes back I have a friend in a government hospital that can get the test done but it a long way away so cannot do while he is at school 

[Rally123]

10 hours ago, offset said:

 

 I have a friend in a government hospital that can get the test done but it a long way away so cannot do while he is at school 

What utter BS. You come on here wanting advice regarding your sick child and then put excuses in as to why you can't take him for tests. Tuesday just gone was 'Teachers Day'. A days holiday for the kids. You could have taken him then and not disturbed his education. You could take him any day at the w/e. Come to that a government/private hospitals will always have someone capable of doing a blood test. They don't close.

Just to finish off. You admit your son's education comes before his health and I'm surprised a private hospital is closer to where you live than a government one. So BS on this story.

 

[offset]

On 19/01/2018 at 3:50 PM, DrNicha said:

I order food intolerance test (IgG test) in many cases. The test provides result on about 200+ food items. It costs around 25,000 baht.

 

There are 2 types of reaction. 

1) IgE type, which causes immediate reactions (think of peanut or shellfish allergy). In this case, you will see in the symptoms within a few seconds-minutes of exposure, such as sudden onset of rash/swollen, breathing difficulties, to anaphylactic shock. Skin prick would be testing this type of reaction. There is also blood test available for IgE reaction. Food challenge would not be recommended in this case as it may do more harm than good.

 

2) IgG type, which causes delayed reactions (gluten/dairy allergy). The symptoms are more vague eg. unknown rash, headache, digestive symptom, fatigue, to general inflammation. The symptoms of IgG will develop hours - days after the exposure. Testing options are food intolerance blood test, elimination diet/food challenge test (requires no blood test and FREE, but takes time and effort to prepare your own foods)

 

Hope you find these information helpful! :)

  

Thank you for comments at this time he is clear of any rashes so I will wait to see if he gets any more reactions and if he does will check what food he has been eating to see if I can pin down what might be causing them I have already cut down his sugar intake which I noticed that he had been having to much sugar which the doctor told me could cause a rashes

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4 hours ago, Rally123 said:

What utter BS. You come on here wanting advice regarding your sick child and then put excuses in as to why you can't take him for tests. Tuesday just gone was 'Teachers Day'. A days holiday for the kids. You could have taken him then and not disturbed his education. You could take him any day at the w/e. Come to that a government/private hospitals will always have someone capable of doing a blood test. They don't close.

Just to finish off. You admit your son's education comes before his health and I'm surprised a private hospital is closer to where you live than a government one. So BS on this story.

 

Thank you for you comments

When I talk about a long way away I am talking about it is a 950km journey which is a bit far for a single day or even a weekend trip

I was told by the doctor that there is no health risk and because he is not being affected by it now (which if you read all this thread you would have seen) I do not see the need for any rush to have the test done

Of course if he gets a major reaction I will have the test done ASAP

I went to a private hospital  because I do have health insurance for him (again if you read this thread you would have seen that) and yes it is nearer to me only a 3 minute walk from where we live

I have had some good advice on this thread but I am sorry to say that your comments were not one of them and if you do not have any useful advice to make I would not bother posting a comment and that is not BS