This is very interesting. I don't want to get into a mompetition here about this topic, but just to say this is waaay overdue. Up until now each physician has been making their own assessment of severity resulting in a lot of kids with mild sensitivities having severely restricted diets. Consistency will hopefully introduce some real quantification into this topic, and reduce hysteria. I think it will also improve the life of kids with real, severe food allergies.
Quote:
The first guidelines for diagnosing and managing food allergies were released Monday by The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAI). Designed by and for allergists, immunologists and other health care professionals, the guidelines represent the best practices for management of a disease where there is no current treatment.
Sampson says food allergy is often overdiagnosed and that perhaps as many as 3 to 4 percent of diagnosed cases involve people who aren't really having allergic reactions. That represents 10- to 12 million people, he says. In fact, he says one of the most common problems is confusion over whether a patient has food sensitivity–a reaction to foods that does not involve the immune system–or true food allergies. Some of the symptoms are the same. "A lot of doctors order large numbers of blood tests to various foods and when they find small amounts of antibodies present they indicated allergic reaction," Sampson said, leading to children being put on very highly restricted diets. "The exercise of diagnosing a food allergy is not just doing a skin test or blood test. It takes a combination of patient history, and oral food challenges."
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New guidelines for diagnosing and managing food allergies.
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