Food allergy is an immune reaction that can cause hives, swelling, vomiting, cough, wheeze or anaphylaxis soon after eating a trigger food. Food intolerance can cause digestive symptoms without the same immune mechanism. Diagnosis combines a careful reaction history with targeted testing and, in selected cases, supervised food challenge.
Common trigger foods include milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish, although any food can cause a reaction. Sensitisation on a test without symptoms does not always equal clinical allergy.
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Book a consultationNo. Allergy involves the immune system and can cause rapid serious reactions, while intolerance usually causes digestive symptoms.
Testing should be targeted to the reaction history because broad panels can produce misleading positives.
Some allergies are often outgrown, while others are more likely to persist. Follow-up testing and supervised challenge guide decisions.
It is a medically supervised process of giving measured amounts of food to determine whether allergy remains.
Not unless they have their own reaction or medical advice. Unnecessary restriction can affect nutrition.
Speak with Paediatric Allergy or contact our team to organise the right starting point.