What happens after my child has had a successful food challenge?

First step

Do not give them any more of the food your child has been challenged to for the rest of the day. Once your child is home, encourage them to rest, they must not participate in strenuous play or exercise as this may cause a delayed reaction.

If your child continues to be well

You must now begin to reintroduce the challenge food into your child’s diet and encourage them to eat or drink this food regularly in different forms to avoid the possibility of an allergic symptoms re-occurring. We recommend keeping the challenge food in your child’s diet at least 2 to 3 times a week to try and prevent re-sensitisation in the future.

What if my child has a reaction?

Symptoms of a reaction usually occur up to 2 hours after the last dose. Signs of an allergic reaction to watch out for include:

• itching
• redness
• swelling
• hives (nettle-sting type rash)
• being sick
• wheezing

If you notice these, treat your child as per their allergy treatment plan.

In event of delayed symptoms

If there are any signs of a delayed reaction, follow your treatment plan and treat your child with an appropriate dose of antihistamine or adrenaline.

If you are worried about your child’s condition, you should call 999 or bring them to the Emergency Department, do not return to the ward.

Please contact the allergy nurses on 0114 226 7872, leave a message and one of the nursing team will get back to you when available.

More information

A copy of the discharge summary will be sent to your GP informing them of the outcome of the challenge.

If your child is at nursery or is of school age, please inform the nursery manager or the head teacher that your child no longer needs to avoid the challenge food.