Food Allergy Facts

How Are Food Allergies Diagnosed?

Often, if a child has a textbook reaction to eating a specific food, no additional testing is needed. But if there's any question or if symptoms seem atypical, the doctor may ask parents to keep a food diary of what the baby eats and any reactions. The definitive measure is a positive result from a skin test (a tiny scratch is made on the skin and touched with drops of the suspect food) or a blood test to measure IgE antibody levels.