Getting to know

This will be recommended if the doctor, after performing all the tests mentioned above, still cannot decide if the allergen is the real cause of your symptoms. To perform this test the doctor will ask you to eat a small quantity of the suspect food and then he will record any symptoms that you might experience. If after a 30-60 minutes interval you didn’t develop any symptoms you will be asked to eat a slightly greater amount of the food and the doctor will monitor you for the same period of time. The same steps can be repeated 5-6 times a day, with increasing amounts of food. If the test remains negative (you don’t develop any symptoms) then the food is excluded as a cause of your problems. If during the test you develop symptoms similar to the ones that prompted you to see the doctor, the food is identified as the underlying cause. The oral challenge test is the most sensitive tool for diagnosing food allergy. However, due to the fact that it can trigger severe allergic reactions (particularly in people with food anaphylaxis) this test is only conducted in hospital and under close medical supervision and only when the history and the other tests are inconclusive.