ABSTRACT
Adverse food reactions such as intolerance, pollen food allergy syndrome, and food allergy (FA) vary in symptom presentation and duration. The evaluation of a patient with suspected Food Allergy (FA) must begin with a careful, focused medical history and physical examination. The true value of a medical history is largely dependent on the parent’s (or child’s) recollection of symptoms and the examiner’s ability to differentiate disorders provoked by FA and other food-induced conditions. Once the history is suggestive of a FA, additional diagnostic testing is used to capture sensitization and clinically interpret the likelihood of a true food allergy. Intradermal testing, which involves injecting a minimal amount of allergen into the dermis of the skin should not be used in food allergy testing. The gold standard for the diagnosis of food allergy is the Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Food Challenge (DBPCFC).
