insideKENT Magazine Issue 24 - March 2014 | Page 88
HEALTH+WELLNESS
Food Allergy
Food allergy is common, but when your child has a
food allergy, it can be difficult to get accurate advice.
Dr Blyth has led the local children’s allergy service since
2006 and has extensive experience of managing children
with food allergies.
There are two main types of food allergic
reactions – immediate and delayed. This
article looks at some aspects of immediate
allergic reactions (reactions that occur
immediately or within minutes of eating a
food, and usually cause rash or swelling).
These are the type of reactions that can
cause anaphylaxis.
As part of his allergy service, Dr Blyth offers
a 'one-stop' allergy consultation for
assessment of immediate food allergy. This
includes: allergy testing (by skin prick
testing), diagnosis, management advice
(including whether an Epipen should be
carried), and a written management plan.
The aim is for you and your child to leave
the appointment knowing what foods
he/she should avoid, what foods he/she
can eat, and what to do if your child has
an allergic reaction in future.
The commonest food allergy is to nuts.
Recent research has raised the possibility
of treatment being available in the future,
but at present the advice remains that
children with nut allergy should avoid eating
nuts. However, families are often uncertain
whether their child can eat foods that say
they 'may contain nuts' or other similar
phrases. As anyone who has nut allergy
will know, a large number of foods have
these warning labels, and it is often difficult
for families to know what foods their child
can eat. Many children with nut allergy can
and do eat foods that say they may contain
traces of nuts. The children simply avoid
foods that have nuts as an ingredient. A
discussion as to the pros and cons of this
approach, and how to safely introduce
these foods, often forms a main part of the
consultation.
Another issue that often causes uncertainty
in nut allergy is whether to avoid all nuts or
just the nuts that have caused allergic
reactions. Skin testing can be used to help
identify nuts that may be safe to eat, but
often the easiest and safest approach is to
simply avoid all nuts, especially when out
of the house (eg at school, friends or
restaurants).
Families often ask whether food allergies
will be outgrown. The answer depends on
the food, but there is no food allergy that
is always 'for life'. Milk and egg allergies
are usually outgrown by school age,
whereas only about a quarter of children
with nut allergy will outgrow it. A plan for
how to monitor the child to see whether
they have outgrown their allergy will also
be discussed as part of the consultation.
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To arrange a consultation with
Dr Blyth ask your GP for a referral to
see him at Nuffield Health Tunbridge
Wells Hospital.
For further information please call
01892 552932 or
[email protected]
‘Get the Nuffield Treatment’
www.nuffieldhealth.com/
tunbridgewellshospital