A recent retrospective study done at National Jewish Health found that most kids with food allergies who had been avoiding a food after a skin-prick test were able to reintroduce the food into their diet after an oral food challenge.
The study reviewed the charts of 125 kids who had been diagnosed with food allergies after skin-prick or blood tests and a review of their clinical history. The children were given the foods they had eliminated from their diets in a supervised oral challenge. Between 84% and 93% of the foods were tolerated, which meant that the children were able to add them back into their diets.
If your child has been on an elimination diet for one or more foods for some time, and has never had an anaphylactic reaction to those foods, you may want to revisit the allergist's office for an oral challenge. You child may now be able to tolerate the food, making life easier for all.
