I recently found out about these guidance questions that you or your child might like to ask your healthcare professional in the NICE guidelines.
They may or may not help and there are probably loads more questions one could ask, but they’re a start. The first 12 in the list are from the NICE guidelines. The rest are mine because I’m just nosy and always have a million questions to ask.
- Could I / my child’s symptoms be caused by food allergy?
- Is it possible to confirm my / my child’s food allergy?
- What will having food allergy mean for me / my child?
- Are there any support organisations in our local area?
- What type of food allergy might my child have?
- Please give me more details about the tests my child may have.
- Will allergy tests be painful or distressing for my child?
- How soon can my child be tested and how long will it take to get the results?
- If we are trying an elimination diet, how can I make sure my child has a healthy diet?
- How long does an elimination diet take and how do they work? ie. order to reintroduce foods…
- Can you refer me to a dietician or nutritionist for advice on maintaining a healthy diet?
- Do I have to avoid the food(s) completely – even traces?
- What if the allergy tests are negative but my child still has symptoms?
- If we are being referred to a specialist can you explain why?
- How long does an elimination diet take and how do they work? ie. order to reintroduce foods…
- Can you refer me to a dietician or nutritionist for advice on maintaining a healthy diet?
- If allergy is diagnosed what treatment, drugs etc. will be prescribed?
- Will I / my child need an adrenaline auto-injector and if so, which one will best suit (think of needle length, age/size of child
- Can you please prescribe two injectors, as suggested by the MHRA?
- Will you be able to demonstrate to me how to use an adrenaline auto-injector please?
- Will it be possible to get retested and possibly challenge foods in the future?
- Are there any trials for desensitisation that I / my child may benefit from enrolling on?
- How often do you see patients with allergies in your surgery?
- Can you help me find help with school, food at school and Allergy Action plans for me / my child?
- Is it possible to be put in touch with other people locally with the same problem? Mums with allergic kids nearby?
- Where is the closest allergy centre/hospital? and how long is the waiting list?
- I would like to be referred to xxxxxx particular allergist at xxxxxx hospital. How do I go about sorting this out?
- How do I keep a food and symptoms diary? Do you have a diary outline you could provide me?
Have you got any other questions you would like to ask?
You will find this and more information online in the NICE guidance for food allergy aimed at (young) patients and carers. https://www.nice.org.uk/
Lately, my son has been getting sick when he eats certain types of foods and so I am taking him to the doctor today to see what his food allergies are. He seems to get sick whenever he eats gluten, dairy and certain fruits and so I really appreciate your questions about healthy diets. However, I have never heard of an elimination diet. If someone is allergic to certain foods, then how can that be changed through dieting?
Hi Faylinn, right well an elimination diet is unlikely to change things for those foods what you have identified make your son sick. Where they can help is situations where people have no idea which foods are causing the problem. You’ve done the hard work already by identifying these. You should also always seek medical guidance and advice before embarking on any elimination diet as it could be dangerous to reintroduce a food your son is allergic to. Does this make sense? I hope you can get the help you need and proper tests to diagnose the condition.