Allergy Clinic

Service

The allergy service offers diagnosis and management of allergies including allergy diagnostic testing, avoidance education, auto injector training and food challenges when applicable. A multidisciplinary allergy clinic is held weekly at RHCYP attended by Professor Jurgen Schwarze, Dr Helen Rhodes, Dr David Cordiner, Dr Aziz Sheikh, Juliet Dykes and Vicky McConnachie Allergy Nurse Specialists and Maria Mitchell, Specialist Paediatric Allergy Dietitian. The joint clinic usually provides a one-stop service offering skin prick testing and dietetic advice alongside a medical consultation.
The service also provides weekly clinics at St John’s Hospital
A Nurse led allergy clinic is available twice weekly
A dietetic led allergy clinic is available fortnightly.

Children with anaphylaxis, i.e. allergy symptoms that affect breathing (cough, wheeze, stridor or breathlessness), the gut (severe prolonged vomiting) or the circulation (faintness, floppiness or signs of shock, collapse)
Children with food allergies who receive regular asthma preventative treatment and/or poorly controlled asthma
Poorly controlled allergic rhinitis only after a trial of daily nasal steroid spray together with a daily non-sedating antihistamine for a minimum of 3 months.
Where diagnosis is not clear and needs to be confirmed or excluded
Children with suspected food allergy who also have severe eczema
Multiple food allergies
Systemic insect sting reactions

Who not to refer:

People over the age of 18 years.
Single uncomplicated food allergies, i.e. not anaphylaxis. These patients may be referred to the General Medical Pediatric Service if not able to be managed in Primary Care
Minor reactions to foods such as strawberries, tomatoes and aubergines are common and do not generally need referral into the allergy service Oral Allergy Syndrome
Egg allergy Egg Allergy
Single urticarial reactions without obvious triggers
Non-allergic chronic urticaria
Well controlled Allergic Rhinitis, Asthma or Eczema
Mild to moderate eczema without obvious allergic trigger
Localized insect sting reactions
Delayed type food allergy presenting primarily with gastrointestinal symptoms