Food Challenges

There may be times when allergy tests i.e. skin prick tests or allergy blood test results may show inconsistency with the clinical history of allergy. The test results may be negative but the clinical history may be strongly positive for an allergic reaction.

Oral challenges are carried out to review if a child has outgrown a previously confirmed allergy or to confirm an allergy when the results of the skin prick tests or blood tests are inconsistent with the real-life history. Food challenges may take a few hours to complete. This is done in a hospital under controlled conditions where emergency medication can be administered in the event of an allergic reaction occurring. Some children may have a minor reaction of a rash or lip swelling. There is a rare risk of anaphylaxis which is why the challenge is done under controlled conditions. There is full paediatric resuscitation back-up available, if required.

The benefit of a food challenge is that it will confirm whether a child is allergic to a specific food or medicine in a controlled safe hospital setting.