How to Diagnose Children's Food Allergies

Food allergies in children can be very serious. Some children have such severe reactions to certain foods that even contact with a minuscule portion of the food can cause anaphylactic shock. However, parents often mistake children's food intolerance or a reaction to a type of preparation as food allergies, so it's important to diagnose them correctly and accurately. Read on to learn more about how to diagnose children's food allergies.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pediatrician or children's allergist

Diagnose Children's Food Allergies

1. Learn the symptoms of food allergies. Every child exhibits different symptoms, but there are some common ones that appear anywhere from within minutes to an hour of eating a problem food. Symptoms to look for include hives, itching, swelling (especially of the mouth), trouble breathing (wheezing), vomiting, diarrhea and low blood pressure.

2. Know the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance. Food allergies are the result of the body's immune system reacting to foods as a harmful substance, which in turn releases antibodies that trigger allergic, histamine based symptoms. Food intolerances, on the other hand, are reactions that aren't in relation to the immune system. Symptoms of food intolerance are more likely to be gastrointestinal in nature.

3. Write down the specifics of the reaction, noting such things as how soon after eating the food symptoms occurred, what the symptoms were and whether anything was successful in relieving them. Other things to note include if anyone else got ill, how the food was prepared and what other foods were eaten in conjunction with the food suspect to be causing an allergy.

4. Present your child's doctor with a detailed food diary, keeping track of all the foods your child has consumed and any reactions that might have occurred.

5. Begin an elimination diet under the supervision of your child's doctor. Your doctor will assist you in creating a plan in which the foods suspected in causing allergy symptoms are removed from your child's diet, one at a time, and then slowly reintroduced. Since, depending on the severity of the allergic reaction, reintroduction of a food can sometimes be risky, it's important to include your doctor in this plan.

6. Participate in a skin-scratch test, in which a diluted solution of the food is placed on your child's skin. The skin is then scratched with a needle and watched to see if there are any signs of a localized allergic reaction. A positive skin test is a fairly reliable indicator of a food allergy.

7. Ask for a blood test in cases where a skin test might be contraindicated. Blood tests can detect the presence of food-specific antibodies that, when paired with a history of symptoms, can help to positively diagnose a food allergy.

Tips & Warnings

• Nearly 90 percent of children's food allergies are in reaction to one or more of the following eight foods: eggs, peanuts, milk, tree nuts, fish, soy, wheat or shellfish.

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[dingianni]

on 2/10/2008 Also parents might want to note that food allergies can present in cold-like symptoms. My daughter responds to certain foods with an almost IMMEDIATE post-nasal drip, which results in a cough for a few days. This has been since she was a baby and she is now 7, we just figured it out.