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Patient info

Directions for a Food Challenge

  1. Please arrive to office at 9:00am.
  2. Food challenge will begin at 9:15am.
  3. ‍Light breakfast in the morning, nothing to eat after 7:45am.
  4. No antihistamines 48 hours prior.
  5. No Zyrtec (Cetirizine), Xyzal (Levocetirizine), Atarax (Hydroxyzine), Astelin (Azelastine), Patanase(Olopatadine) 5 days prior.
  6. If the patient is sick (fever, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or has an eczema flare) on the day of the food challenge, please call to cancel the appointment because the patients’ subjective complaints may influence the interpretation of the procedure.
  7. Food challenge is approximately 4 hours.
  8. Please bring the following food relative to your challenge:

– Egg: At home, make scrambled eggs, using either 1 or 2 eggs, as directed. Make sure that the eggs are dry and well-cooked. In addition, bring 2 raw eggs to the office on the day of the challenge. In the case that the scrambled eggs (made at home) are not satisfactory for the challenge (too uncooked), the 2 raw eggs will be scrambled at the office.

– Baked Egg: Cupcakes made as follows:

– Commercial brand cake mix (yellow or chocolate, e.g., Duncan Hines)
– Add oil, water, and 3 large eggs
– Bake 350⁰ for 20 minutes
– Make exactly 21 cupcakes

– Milk: 1 small carton milk (skim, 1%, 2%, or whole)

– Baked Milk: Cupcakes made as follows:

– Commercial brand cake mix (yellow or chocolate, e.g., Duncan Hines)
– Add oil, 1 cup milk, and 3 large eggs
– Bake 350° for 20 minutes
– Make exactly 20 cupcakes

– Peanut: JIF creamy peanut butter

– Tree Nut: Bring in 1 can of mixed nuts that contains: almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, and pecans. In addition, bring in a small separate bag of walnuts and pistachios.

– Soy: 1 small carton of soy milk

– Shellfish: Bring in the following COOKED shellfish, as directed by your allergist: 1 lobster tail, 8 ounces of lump crab meat, and 8 medium shrimp (size #31-40). If you are steaming or boiling the shellfish, make sure the shellfish are well-cooked and firm.

Read more about Food Challenges.

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