Paediatric allergy

Allergy symptoms in children

Allergic reactions can be mild, however others can be severe and lead to anaphylaxis. Symptoms typically affect the skin, the respiratory system and the gut.

 If your child has allergies, they may show signs such as:

• A runny nose or sneezing
• Red, itchy or watery eyes
• Itchy skin or hives (a rash with a raised appearance)
• Coughing, wheezing or breathlessness
• Swelling, especially around the eyes, lips, mouth and throat
• Diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting

If you are concerned that your child is having a severe allergic reaction, call 999 immediately.

Our allergy testing services for children

We want to help you identify what’s causing your child’s symptoms fast and rule out anything serious. Our comprehensive range of allergy tests includes:

• Skin prick testing: This is usually the first test we carry out, as it’s a quick and an effective way of testing for common allergens your child might eat or inhale.
• Spirometry/FeNO: To look at allergic inflammation and lung function. 
• IgE blood tests: Immunoglobin (IgE) is an antibody that fights foreign bodies. Measuring your child’s IgE levels allows us to see if they’re elevated generally or whether they rise in relation to specific allergens.
• A food challenge: The only true way to know if your child will react to a certain food is to give them a small amount of it in a controlled setting, under the care of our specialist clinical nurses.
• A drug challenge: Similar to the food challenge, this test checks for reactions to medications that are known to cause reactions in some children.

We might also ask you to keep a food diary to help us understand what triggers your child’s allergies. Keeping a food diary and taking photos where possible can support your child’s diagnostics and by helping us to paint a wider and more detailed picture of their condition.

How we treat allergies in children

If an allergen isn’t identified or properly managed it can lead to anything from a sniffle to anaphylaxis, so our specialists will work with you to create a plan for treating and managing your child’s allergies.

This might include prescription medication such as antihistamines, AAI (adrenaline autoinjectors) and inhalers while also making a plan to manage allergens in the community.