A Food Challenge Can Determine If A Child Outgrew An Allergy

peanuts in a white ceramic bowl for food challenge

A study points out the helpfulness of a food challenge in determining whether one is still allergic.

A new study points out that quite a few people outgrow the possibly dangerous allergies they had as children. As many as eighty percent of all people who have egg allergies as kids reportedly outgrow them, but most seemingly don’t realize it.

A Food Challenge and How it Works

Blood tests can show the likelihood of someone’s having an allergic reaction. However, they can’t always clearly prove which specific food allergens that person will have a strong response to. A food challenge, performed by a doctor, can definitively prove whether or not a patient still has a particular food intolerance.

Food challenges consist of giving someone a tiny amount of the food in question and seeing if that person has an allergic reaction. If the patient doesn’t react after twenty minutes or more, they are given a much larger amount to eat. If they still do not react after that, the amount increases until the patients are no longer considered allergic to that food.

A recent study, whose findings are available in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, tested over six thousand people. Most of them were under eighteen years old. Approximately four out of five patients were noted to no longer be allergic to eggs. Even most that were still allergic only had minor reactions.

While a huge majority didn’t suffer a significant reaction during testing, two percent of them did require a dose of epinephrine. Because of that, this test should only be conducted under direct medical supervision.

Life can be much more challenging than it should be when people don’t realize they’ve outgrown a food allergy. They have to limit their diet, making meal planning harder and possibly turning meals much more expensive.

A food challenge can help a person who suffered from a childhood food allergy feel safer ordering from a restaurant or preparing food that contains the previously allergenic foods as well.

Image Source: Pexels

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Richard Carlisle

Richard is a product of the 90s and a serious fan of the Star Wars series. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology; therefore, he has a great understanding of the relationship between physical activity and mental health. Although he has a full- time job in a clinic, he enjoys covering news related to health and the United States.