A 10-year-old female experienced one cold after another in the springtime.

She had missed several days of school, and her mother was greatly concerned. The mother took her daughter to the pediatrician, worried that she might be immunocompromised because she couldnt seem to fight off infections. A blood sample was obtained and sent to a reference laboratory for a determination of antibody levels, including an IgE level. The patients IgM, IgG, and IgA levels were all normal for her age, but the IgE level was greatly increased.