If you’re worried about allergies, ask your doctor to refer you to an allergist. Not only does an allergy specialist spend more time to take a detailed medical and family history, but he can also perform blood and skin tests to help locate the specific allergens.

During a skin test, small needles containing allergens are scratched into the skin. Often, a bump will rise above the allergen. Blood tests, while not as accurate as scratch tests, measure a child’s antibody levels to determine an allergen.

As for food allergies, they can be confirmed by the “improvement of symptoms following elimination of the suspected food and recurrence of symptoms on its reintroduction,” says Bahna. So if your child feels better when he’s not drinking milk but breaks out in hives when he eats ice cream a week later, he’s probably allergic to dairy. Don’t try this alone. You never know how your child will react to an allergen, so it’s important to have him monitored by a physician or allergist during the diet.

In addition to seeing an allergist, children who suffer from food allergies may benefit from a consultation with a dietitian. Not only can they learn about substitutes for the specific food, but the dietitian can also provide them with recipes to help balance their diet.