Doubts raised over child food allergy rise

Doubts are being cast over the sharp rise in food allergies among children, with a health watchdog saying many could have been wrongly diagnosed.

Up to 8% of children under three now have food allergies - a dramatic rise since 1990.

But NICE raised concern about the reliance on self-diagnosis, such as the use of testing kits bought online.

The health watchdog cited research showing that a fifth of self-diagnosed cases were inaccurate.

But it also called on GPs to improve their practices in some draft guidelines.

It comes as allergies are increasingly being seen as a major child health problem in western countries.

Read the article in full on the BBC Health website - here