Take 6: Recognising food allergy

Food allergy should be considered when there is a history of exposure to a particular food and an associated reaction within two hours of that exposure

Food allergy should be considered when there is a history of exposure to a particular food and a reaction within two hours of that exposure says Dr Preeti Joshi, a paediatric allergy and immunology specialist at the Children’s Hospital Westmead in Sydney.

The mild to moderate symptoms of a food allergy after exposure may include a rash, vomiting, swelling or abdominal pain.

The more severe symptoms of food allergy after exposure include respiratory difficulties and or cardiovascular effects.

“Usually it’s a question of the exposure and timing, particularly if it has happened on a number of occasions, and you have that history,” says Dr Joshi.

“If you get a vague history where something has happened two or three days after exposure, or something which happens sometimes, but not other times, is probably not a food allergy.”

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