The best ways to find out if your baby has a food allergy or intolerance - plus a few that are a waste of money.
Wondering if your baby has an allergy or intolerance can be a stressful time. As well as dealing with the unpleasant symptoms, you also have an anxious wait while you're referred to a specialist GP or allergist. During this time, you may be struggling to avoid certain foods in order to keep your child’s symptoms from getting worse.
You might have heard that there are places on the high street which can test for allergies in one day. But are they worth using, and should you trust the results?
Many of these high street tests are based on complementary and alternative medicine and aren't supported by any scientific evidence, unlike the tests your GP will prescribe, which have been proven to be safe and effective.
The high street tests may sound tempting, but they can cost quite a lot of money, and many of them recommend avoiding lots of different foods or taking herbal supplements. In the long term, avoiding lots of foods without any proof of an allergy could mean your little one isn't getting the right nutrition to grow up healthy.