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Who you will see at your child's appointment
At your allergy appointment, you and your child will see one or more of the following clinicians.Â
- Paediatrician with specialist interest in allergy
- Advanced nurse practitioner (ANP)
- Advanced dietitian practitioner (ACP)
- Paediatric allergy nurse specialist (CNS)
- Paediatric allergy dietitian.
What happens at the appointment
You can expect the following at your child's allergy appointment. The appointment may take up to 3 hours, so we suggest you bring nappies, as well as foods, snacks and toys to keep your child entertained.
- We will measure your child’s height and weight.
- We will ask you about your child’s medical history and assess them.
- Your child may need skin prick testing or a blood test. (Scroll down for more information on skin prick testing).
- If the allergy team decides your child needs skin prick testing, a team member will explain the test to you and carry it out on the day.
- The doctor, nurse practitioner or dietitian will explain the skin prick test results to you.
- Following this, you may be seen by a paediatric allergy dietitian for advice.
- If your child needs a blood test, we will talk to you about scheduling this at a future date.
Can your child take their usual medicines before their appointment?
Read the following information carefully before your child’s appointment.
Antihistamines and travel sickness medicines
| Stop giving your child the following long-acting antihistamines 5 days before their allergy appointment: |
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| Stop giving your child the following short-acting antihistamines 2 days before their allergy appointment: |
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| Stop giving your child travel sickness medicines and cough syrups 2 days before their allergy appointment |
Asthma medicines
If your child uses an inhaler for asthma, they must continue to use their preventative treatment. This will not affect the results of their skin prick test.
If your child has taken antihistamines, you can still attend the appointment, but we will book your child’s skin prick test appointment for a future date.
If your child attends the appointment with a cough, cold or temperature, we will not be able to do skin prick testing as it may not be safe.
What to bring on the day of your child’s allergy appointment
On the day of the appointment, you may need to bring some foods for testing.
Use the drop-down menus below for guidance on which foods you need to bring with you.
If your child is having a skin prick test for the following foods, you will need to bring the relevant foods with you:
- Specific fresh fruits
- Specific fresh vegetables
- Meats (only bring cooked meat)
- Fish other than cod, prawn and salmon. You can bring tinned fish in spring water, but remember to bring a tin opener.
- Specific herbs or spices
- Specific seeds
- Any other food not listed in the 'Foods you do not need to bring with you' drop-down menu.
Bring each food in a separate sealed container.
A piece of food the size of a 20p is usually enough for testing.
If your child is having a skin prick test for the following foods, you do not need to bring these with you:
- Nuts
- Cow’s milk
- Tree nuts (Brazil, hazelnut, almond, pecan, walnut, cashew, pistachio, macadamia)
- Egg
- Soya
- Tomato
- Sesame
- Prawn, cod, salmon
- Wheat
- Beans, chickpeas, lentils
- Pine nut
- Sunflower seed
- Coconut
- Oat, rye, barley
- Mustard
- Celery
- Kiwi fruit
- Peas (green).
What happens during a skin prick test
A nurse or dietitian will complete your child's skin prick test during your appointment.
- We will check that your child has not taken antihistamines in the previous 2 to 5 days and discuss with you the foods that we need to test.
- To start the test, we will put a small drop of the manufactured allergen on your child's arm. Then we will prick each drop with a small instrument called a lancet and blot it with a tissue.
- If the test involves fresh foods, we will prick the food with the lancet, then prick your child’s skin.
- We measure the result after 10 to 15 minutes.
- The doctor, or ANP or ACP will discuss the results with you afterwards.
What a positive skin prick test looks like
- If the skin prick test is positive an itchy bump (called a 'wheal') will develop on your child’s arm.
- We will measure the wheal and record the size.
- The wheal is likely to fade within a few hours. We can give your child antihistamine treatment if they need it on the day.
When to expect skin prick test results
The results are available immediately. Blood results take up to 2 weeks.
The doctor or ANP or ACP who ordered the test will discuss the results with you. They will also make a plan for your child to follow.
Depending on the results of your child’s skin prick test, your doctor or nurse might decide your child needs a blood test. If this is needed, your doctor or nurse will discuss this with you and you will need to make an appointment for a blood test at a future date.
Contact information
Kingston Hospital Paediatric Outpatients
Kingston Hospital Paediatric Admin team. Email: khft.