A study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reveal that over 5% of children of age five and younger suffer from food allergies.
If you suspect that your child suffers from a food related allergy, then visit an allergist without further delay. After all, you cannot ignore the health of your little one! And, the sooner you figure out the cause of your child’s allergy, the sooner your child will be able to get relief from their symptoms.
Here are a few food allergy tests every parent needs to know about.
Skin tests not only help to detect allergies caused by certain types of foods, but also to detect allergies caused by airborne particles, insect stings, and the like. After analyzing your child’s condition and symptoms at the first consultation, the allergist will choose the right allergy test accordingly, such as an intradermal skin test, scratch test, or patch test, etc.
In some circumstances, the skin test may be hard to administer for child food allergy testing. In such cases, the allergist can suggest a blood test to detect the food allergy. Some commonly used blood tests to diagnose food allergies include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA or EIA) and radioallergosorbent test (RAST).
Elimination Diet Tests
In the elimination diet test, foods that are suspected to trigger a reaction are eliminated from the patient’s diet. More often than not, such trigger foods are eggs, milk, soy, peanuts, and wheat.
Get in touch with the experienced team of allergists at Adult & Pediatric Allergy Associates P.C. to diagnose the food allergy your child is suffering from. Our team will find the most suitable therapeutic interventions for your little one, including diet changes, allergy shots, and medication.