Plan B · Learn
the test to ask for

The immune workup almost nobody orders

If your child keeps getting reinfected no matter what you clear, there may be a measurable reason — and the test for it is ordinary, cheap and usually covered.

What to ask for

  • Immunoglobulins — IgG, IgA, IgM (total). The basic panel.
  • IgG subclasses 1–4. Total IgG can look normal while one subclass is deficient.
  • Pneumococcal antibody titers. Shows whether your child actually responds to a vaccine already given — a functional deficiency a total level cannot see.

None of these are exotic. Most pediatricians can order them, and insurance generally covers them.

Why it is worth doing even if it comes back normal

If normal: you have ruled out an immune deficiency and you can stop wondering. That is worth something on its own.

If abnormal: you finally have an explanation for the whack-a-mole — and in some children it opens doors that were closed, because there is now documentation supporting immune-directed treatment.

In our own cohort, children with abnormal immunoglobulins carried nearly twice the rate of stacked infection drivers.

If the doctor pushes back

The most persuasive line is about the titers specifically: "I want to know whether he actually responds to the vaccines he has already had." That is a concrete clinical question with a concrete answer, and it is harder to wave away than "we want to check his immune system."

Want this answered for your own child? A Plan B synthesis reads every lab and note you have — together — and tells you what is driving the picture, what has never been checked, and what to ask for next.

The first one is free, and you keep the list either way. Phone photos of labs are fine.

Start a free synthesis
Keep reading
Some kids collect infections
In our own cohort, children with abnormal immunoglobulins carried nearly twice the rate of stacked infection drivers. The standard blood test most PANS kids never get.
It is almost never one thing
In our cohort, 53% of children carried three or more infection or mold drivers at once. Why treating one thing at a time keeps failing.
Mycoplasma IgG vs IgM — what actually counts as active?
High Mycoplasma IgG with a negative IgM confuses almost every PANS family. What each marker means, why doctors disagree, and the three tests that actually settle it.

Plan B for PANS is written by a parent, not a physician. Nothing here is medical advice or a substitute for your child's clinicians — it is meant to make you the best-informed person in the room when you talk to them.