Why didn’t my doctor spot my child had a food allergy?
It’s not always easy to spot food allergy, as the signs and symptoms can be similar to many other common conditions seen in babies and children, such as constipation, toddler diarrhoea and reflux.
Why can’t you test my child for allergy?
Allergy testing is only helpful for babies/ children who have immediate reactions to food and where an antihistamine helps to make the symptoms better.
For babies/ children who have less obvious reactions to food, usually involving the gut, there is no suitable test.
The only way to know if it is food allergy is to cut out the suspected foods and see if your baby/ child gets better, then to give the foods again and see if the symptoms come back.
If they do, this confirms the diagnosis.