Children's allergy diagnosis questioned

Concerns have been raised about the sharp rise in food allergies among children.

Hospital admissions for food allergies among children have risen by 500% in the last 20 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, says the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Up to 8% of children under three now have food allergies.

The health watchdog has issued draft guidelines, calling on GPs to improve their practices. The guidance tells GPs when to consider the possibility of a food allergy and when to carry out further testing.

Dr Judith Richardson, of NICE, told Medical ID wearers: "Food allergies in children are becoming more common, therefore it is important that there are appropriate, evidence-based approaches in treating those with this condition. Many of the symptoms are common to other conditions, so it's not always easy to identify and diagnose food allergy correctly."

NICE also raised concern about the reliance on self-diagnosis, such as the use of testing kits bought online, citing research showing that a fifth of self-diagnosed cases were inaccurate.

The most common foods which children and young people are allergic to include cow's milk, fish and shellfish, hen's eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame, soy, wheat and kiwi fruit.