Food allergy
If you think you or your child has a food allergy, make an appointment with your GP.
Theywill ask yousome questions about the pattern of your child's symptoms, such as:
They'll also want to know about your child's medical history, such as:
Your GP may also assess your child's weight and size to make sure they're growing at the expected rate.
If your GP suspects a food allergy, you may be referred to an allergy clinic or centre for testing.
The tests needed can vary, depending on the type of allergy:
There is more information on these tests below.
Duringa skin-prick test, drops ofstandardised extractsoffoods are placed on the arm. The skin is then pierced with a smalllancet, which allows the allergen to come into contact with thecells of your immune system.
Occasionally, your doctor mayperform thetest using a sample of the food thought to cause a reaction.
Itching, redness and swelling usually indicates a positive reaction. This test is usually painless.
A skin-prick test does have a small theoretical chance of causing anaphylaxis, but testing will be carried out where there are facilities to deal withthisusually an allergy clinic, hospital, or larger GP surgery.
An alternative to a skin-prick test is a blood test, which measures the amount of allergic antibodies in the blood.
In a food elimination diet, the food thought to have caused the allergic reaction is withdrawnfromthe diet fortwo to sixweeks. The food is then reintroduced.
If the symptoms go away when the food is withdrawnbutreturn once the food is introduced again, this normally suggests a food allergy or intolerance.
Before starting the diet, you should be given advice from a dietitian on issues such as:
Don't attempt a food elimination diet by yourself without discussing itwith a qualified health professional.
There areseveral shop-bought tests available that claim to detect allergies,but should be avoided.
They include:
Many alternative testing kits are expensive, the scientific principles they are allegedly based on are unproven, and independent reviews have found them to be unreliable. They should therefore be avoided.
A food allergy is when the body's immune system reacts unusually to specific foods. Allergic reactions are often mild, but they can sometimes be very serious.
Symptoms of a food allergy include a raised, itchy red rash, swelling of the face, eyes, lips and tongue, and shortness of breath.
A food allergy is caused when your immune system mistakenly treats harmless proteins found in certain foods as a threat. It releases a number of chemicals, which then triggers an allergic reaction.
If you think you or your child has a food allergy, make an appointment with your GP.
The advice here is primarily written for parents of a child with a food allergy. However, most of it is also relevant if you're an adult with a food allergy.
Once you have been diagnosed as having a food allergy, you will receive advice about antihistamines, adrenaline and using an auto-injector.
Alexis Manning has a peanut allergy. She first found out that she was allergic to peanuts as a child. Some sweets just tasted bad and made her lips swell a bit, and it didn't take long to work out the cause.