HOW TO TEST A FOOD AFTER EXCLUSION: HOW TO MONITOR SYMPTOMS

March 30, 2009, 7:02 am

If you are extremely sensitive to a food, have a history of anaphylactic reactions to food, or of life-threatening asthma attack, your doctor will advise whether it is safe for you to test foods or not, but you should always take emergency precautions before testing and not test unsupervised. If you have no such history, such precautions would not be essential.

If you have had immediate allergic reactions to a food, or are nervous about testing, one useful test you can carry out prior to actually eating the food is the Cheek Test. Smear a small amount of the food or its juice on the skin of your cheek and leave for half an hour. If you develop symptoms in that time, do not test-eat the food without further consulting a doctor. This is a useful test to do for babies and young children.

How to Monitor Symptoms

Before starting to eat, note down how you feel, and whether you have any specific symptoms already so that you will notice any change.

Eat the food you want to test, as a single food (see below for full advice). If you have a history of allergic reaction, you may only need to eat a little and your doctor may advise you not to eat too much. If you have no clear history of allergy, you may need to eat a lot of the chosen food: you may only react if you eat a large amount and it is better to get a clear result on the first round of testing. (You can experiment later to see if you can tolerate smaller amounts.)

Next, wait and see if symptoms develop. Note down any adverse changes (physical or mental) that you notice, and the time when they occur. Most people find that, if they are going to react, symptoms start to develop within the first four hours after eating. Delayed reactions can occur, especially with proteins and grains, and you can develop symptoms up to eight hours later or even the next day.

Do not take food or drink other than water for at least four hours after testing so that you do not confuse the results. Some people like to test foods in the late afternoon or evening, so that they can be at home resting and are able to monitor symptoms for several hours after eating.

If you get very hungry when testing or on an exclusion diet, a drink of hot boiled water helps quell hunger cravings and get you through to the next meal or snack.

If you feel worse the next day or get withdrawal symptoms, these will confirm any symptoms that you noted on eating the food.

If you have no reactions to a food first time round, it can be a good idea to wait a week (or a minimum of four days) before eating it again, and then repeat the test to be absolutely sure of negative reaction.

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