Could you be allergic to certain foods?
Food allergies can be a serious and even life-threatening condition for many people.
I offer skin prick testing for a wide range of foods, including:
- Nuts (such as peanut allergies, almonds, and walnuts)
- Fruits (such as apples, bananas, and strawberries)
- Vegetables (such as celery, carrots, and potatoes)
- Gluten (found in wheat, oats, barley, and rye)
- Eggs
- Fish
- Crustaceans (such as shrimp, crab, and lobster)
- Mollusks (such as clams, oysters, and squid)
- Milk
- Cheese
- Chocolate
Prick to Prick Testing
If you have concerns about any food that is not listed, please let me know, and I will do my best to accommodate your request. We may ask you to bring in the specific food in order to test your skin with it directly, or we may try to source the allergen extract for you. This former process is called prick-to-prick allergy skin testing.
Prick to Prick testing can be performed in the same way as skin prick testing.
The technique can use any fresh foods such as fresh nuts, fruits, vegetables, grains (wheat, oats, rye, barley etc.), alcohol or alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, cider, champagne, prosecco etc).
What Is A Food Allergy?
A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune system reacts to a certain food as if it were harmful. This is a natural reaction in which the immune system mistakenly identifies a specific food protein as an invader and therefore reacts to it. This reaction, which is supposed to protect you, is what is called an allergic reaction. The reaction can range from mild to severe and can occur within minutes to hours after eating the food.
Symptoms of a food allergy reaction can include:
- Hives or skin rash
- Nausea or vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat
- Difficulty breathing
- Drop in blood pressure
- Loss of consciousness
The latter bullet points indicate symptoms of a very severe allergic reaction, known as anaphylaxis. You should be following advice from the NHS website on when to call 999 in case of an allergic reaction.
It is important to note that not all reactions to food are caused by an allergy. Some people may experience food intolerance, which is a different condition.
What Is Food Intolerance?
Food intolerance occurs when the body is unable to digest or absorb certain components of a particular food. The symptoms of a food intolerance can be similar to those of a food allergy, such as abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhoea. However, food intolerance is not caused by the immune system and is not life-threatening.
A common example of this is lactose intolerance In some cases, a person may be able to eat small amounts of the offending food without experiencing symptoms.
Food Intolerance Assessment and Dietary Advice
I can also provide dietary advice following a comprehensive food intolerance assessment.
How is a food allergy diagnosed?
If you suspect that you have a food allergy, it is important to see an allergist for proper diagnosis and treatment. An allergist will take a detailed medical history and may recommend skin prick tests or blood tests to determine if you are allergic to a particular food.
Skin prick testing, as you will see below, is the gold standard in allergy diagnosis for both food and other aeroallergens.
Skin Prick Testing
Skin prick tests are one of the most common ways of diagnosing food allergies. In this test, a small amount of the suspected food allergen is placed on the skin, and the skin is then pricked with a small needle. If you are allergic to it, then you will develop a small bump or hive at the site of the skin prick.
The size of this bump determines the intensity of your allergy as this can vary from mild to more severe.
Blood tests can also be used to diagnose food allergies. These tests measure the amount of allergy-related antibodies in the blood, which can help determine if you are allergic to a particular food.
Although skin prick testing is the gold standard, IgE blood tests can be used when a skin prick test is not suitable. This may happen in the case of severe reactions, eczema or other skin damage. For example, if you have had previous anaphylaxis to a specific food, then it may not be suitable to test your skin again with it directly as we wouldn’t know how strongly you would react the second time as well.
Oral Food Challenges
Oral food challenges may also be used to diagnose food allergies. In this test, you will eat a small amount of the suspected food under medical supervision to see if you have a reaction. (source)
Oral food challenges should always be carried out in a clinical environment where resuscitation facilities are available. This is because we wouldn’t know how strongly you might react to this. For this reason, it’s best for it to be done in the hospital during working hours.
They must also be only done under the supervision of specially trained doctors or nurses who are able to recognise the early signs of an allergic reaction.
At Holistic Allergy, I provide a range of food allergy testing services, including skin prick tests and IgE blood tests for a wide range of foods. These can help you determine if you have a true food allergy or a food intolerance. Once the diagnosis is established, we can work on the most appropriate treatment and management for your symptoms.
The allergen extracts we use come in small bottles with a pipette, as you can see below. Usually, a drop of each is enough to trigger a reaction if you are allergic to that specific food.
If you think you might have a food allergy, get in touch with us to book your appointment. The best way to contact us for food allergy testing is by email. Please also mention a short background regarding your allergies or other medical history and which foods you are most concerned about.
