Pediatric Food Allergy Center

The pediatric Food Allergy Center at Tufts Medical Center along with our colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital provides integrative, patient-oriented, multidisciplinary and evidence-based care for both adults and children with known or suspected food allergies or food hypersensitivity causing gastrointestinal disorders and other conditions.

We provide care for a number of food allergies in children and related diseases including:

• IgE mediated food allergies (e.g. peanut allergy, cow milk allergy and etc)
• Eosinophilic esophagitis
• Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders
• Food protein-induced proctitis/colitis and enteropathy of infancy
• Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
• Celiac disease
• Non-celiac gluten hypersensitivity
• Oral allergy syndrome
• Food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis
• Lactose and fructose intolerance
• Abdominal pain associated with food ingestion
• Food aversion/phobia
• Allergic contact dermatitis

Patients with food allergy and/or food associated gut disorders suffer from a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from swallowing difficulty to life-threatening anaphylaxis. At our center, we use a multi-disciplinary approach to provide the best possible care for you and/or your child in a time-efficient manner. Our clinic is staffed by board-certified allergists, pediatric gastroenterologists, adult gastroenterologists and a dietitian who specializes in food allergy and related conditions.

Diagnosis of food allergies

Given the diagnostic challenge of these complex disorders, we believe clinical history is the most important component of the evaluation. We will assist new patients to obtain outside medical records, and our physician will carefully review these documents prior to you or your child's visit. Recommendations will be made for specific diagnostic tests to confirm the diagnosis and to formulate therapy only after a careful review of your clinical history, physical examination and previous laboratory, histologic and endoscopic data.

We offer the most comprehensive state-of-art studies at our center, including specialized Allergy studies such as supervised oral food challenge, skin prick testing, patch testing, component-resolved diagnostics, as well as a wide range of GI studies ranging from breath tests (for evaluating bacterial overgrowth, lactose and fructose intolerance, and H. pylori infection), motility studies, video capsule endoscopy and upper and lower endoscopies. Specialized genetic and metabolic studies also are available in selected cases.

At Tufts Medical Center, we have specialists from a wide range of disciplines. We work cohesively and seamlessly to provide the best care for our patients. We can bring in other specialists such as dermatologists, endocrinologists, otolaryngologists, geneticists, psychologist, metabolic disorder specialists and others as indicated by your history. A registered dietitian is on-site to provide same-day consultation in cases where specific food avoidance is deemed inevitable.  

If your child is being evaluated food allergy, we would like to minimize the number of visits that your family needs to make downtown for a diagnosis to be made.  The following measures will expedite your evaluation:

• Please fill out our appointment preparation form and bring it with you to your child's appointment.
• Any skin testing will require that you NOT take the following medication for 7 days prior to your visit:
  • Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
  • Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton)
  • Brompheniramine (Dimetapp)
  • Clemastine (Tavist, Antihist)
  • Cyproheptadine (Periactin)
  • Doxepin (Adapin, Silenor, Sinequan)
  • Combination Drugs (Actifed, Drixoral, Trinalin)
  • Loratadine (Claritin)
  • Fexofenadine (Allegra)
  • Cetirizine (Zyrtec)
  • Hydroxyzine (Vistaril, Atarax)
  • Azelastine nasal spray (Astelin, Asteopro)
  • Olopatadine nasal spray (Patanase)
  • Some over the counter sleep aids
• Previous medical records are always helpful if your child has been referred from outside of Tufts Medical Center (this might include hospital discharge summaries, Physician Office Records, X-ray reports)
  • At your child's initial visit expect to spend two hours with us.  We will conduct:
  • An interview regarding your child's medical history
  • An environmental, occupational, social and family history
  • A physical examination
  • If medically indicated: skin testing, lung function testing and laboratory tests.
  • Special procedures such as drug challenges and some drug testing and certain desensitization treatments will generally be scheduled for a future visit.

• Oral allergy syndrome 
• Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease Nutrition Desk Reference  

Celiac Disease 

• Patient information from UpToDate
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly American Dietetic Association)
• American Celiac Disease Alliance
• Celiac Disease Foundation
• National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA)
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• National Library of Medicine
• North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease

• Patient information from UpToDate
• National Library of Medicine

Asthma

• Action Plan
• Immunotherapy
• Dust-Mite

Pediatric Food Allergy Center

Tufts Medical Center
2nd Floor, Tufts Medical Center
Boston, MA 02111

Phone: 617-636-3266
Fax: 617-636-8718

For the adult food allergy center at Tufts MC, please visit: www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/FAC