{"id":4834,"date":"2019-12-04T10:05:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T10:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyans.scot.nhs.uk\/?page_id=4834"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:35:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:35:14","slug":"questions-to-ask-your-doctor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/families\/allergic-reactions-medication\/about-allergy\/questions-to-ask-your-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions to ask your Doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ensuring food allergy is taken seriously can sometimes be difficult. \u201cJust avoid it\u201d, \u201cJust try again in a few months\u2019 time\u201d, \u201cYou\u2019re too young for a test\u201d, \u201cTesting doesn\u2019t really help\u201d are but a few unhelpful responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some areas there\u00a0is<\/strong>\u00a0difficulty getting to see an allergy specialist, with long wait lists and sometimes issues in training. To help we have drafted a list of questions you might like to put to your doctor when you go with concerns about your child having food allergies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Is this the immediate type of allergy that can cause life threatening reactions \/ anaphlyaxis in some people?\u00a0 If so, when do we get a test?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What exactly are they allergic to?\u00a0 Is there any other allergens we don\u2019t know about?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Do these allergies always get highlighted on ingredient labels?\u00a0 What does \u201cMay contain\u201d mean?\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. How do I deal with restaurants \/ takeaways \/ parties \/ Halloween?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. How do I deal with school or nursery?\u00a0 How do they get training?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Could we be referred to a dietician?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. What allergy medicines do I need?\u00a0 Antihistamine or Epipen?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. What do we do if they have another reaction?\u00a0 When do we need to phone for an ambulance?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. \u00a0Can we have a written plan with a copy for school or nursery?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Can we have a travel letter for going abroad?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Is this something they are likely to outgrow?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If your doctor can\u2019t answer these questions to your satisfaction, you should ask to see a specialist allergy clinic.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ensuring food allergy is taken seriously can sometimes be difficult. \u201cJust avoid it\u201d, \u201cJust try again in a few months\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":100,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4834","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4834"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6802,"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4834\/revisions\/6802"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nn.nhs.scot\/cyans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}