Booking an appointment
Dr Sarah warmly welcomes all patients prior to their 18th birthday. Appointments can be made using the Online Link below or by phoning 4031 1204 and speaking to our friendly reception team.
While referrals are preferred, they are not required to see Dr Sarah. A referral from your child’s regular family doctor (GP), Paediatrician, ENT, Dermatologist, Dietitian or Midwife ensures Dr Sarah receives valuable additional information on your child’s general health and growth and can provide early information on the condition you are consulting Dr Sarah for. It also means that if your child’s condition needs a more urgent review, we can streamline the process and ensure your child is seen as soon as possible. A referral also gives our team the opportunity to contact you ahead of your child’s appointment to provide tailored and specific instructions on how best to prepare for the appointment.
Those coming without a referral are still warmly welcomed. You can help ensure you and your child get the most out of the appointment by letting our team know (via phone or answering our questions online) the specific reason for your booking.
Preparing for your appointment & What to expect:
What to expect:
An initial consultation with Dr Sarah will usually last 45-60 minutes, depending on the nature of your child’s presentation. Follow-up appointments will vary in time depending on your child’s specific needs. Where indicated, Dr Sarah, can perform skin prick testing during your child’s initial consultation.
Dr Sarah will spend the initial part of the consultation taking a thorough and detailed history. She will explore your child’s symptoms and medical history in detail and will ask lots of questions. There are many things that can cause allergies beyond the famous culprits and there are many conditions that can mimic allergic disease. Dr Sarah will ensure she gets all the relevant information to best inform your child’s diagnosis and care.
Dr Sarah will then determine whether allergy testing is required. Skin prick testing (SPT) and blood allergy testing is only useful in the diagnosis of IgE (antibody) mediated allergies and Dr Sarah will explain whether this form of testing is appropriate for your child. Positive tests do not always confirm allergy, and negative tests do not always exclude allergy so experienced interpretation of the results is imperative. If it is deemed necessary for your child, SPT can be performed during your child’s initial consultation. Allergy testing is not indicated in the assessment of eczema or chronic hives.
Dr Sarah will wrap up your consultation by explaining your child’s diagnosis, treatment plan and follow-up requirements. All relevant information will be conveyed to your child’s other care providers, with your consent, to ensure everyone is on the same page. Dr Sarah will also discuss with you if new referrals to other health professionals are required to complete or complement your child’s care.
Dr Sarah has created a social story for young children regarding their allergy appointment which you may find useful.
How to Prepare:
To facilitate any necessary skin testing please do not to give your child any antihistamine containing medications (loratadine, cetirizine, fexofenadine or promethazine) for at least 72 hours prior to their appointment. Please only avoid antihistamines if it is safe for your child to do so. If they are unable to stop their antihistamines blood testing can still be performed.
Dr Sarah has a range of food and environmental allergens available for skin prick testing but is not able to keep every allergen. If there is a particular food you think your child might be allergic to, for example certain fruits, vegetables, fish or meats, please contact our reception staff to discuss this further. You may be asked to bring a sample of that particular food with you (in a sealed container or bag) to the appointment, or we may choose to discuss the situation more thoroughly during the consultation and then arrange another appointment to complete testing if necessary.
If your child has had allergy testing or treatments in the past, please bring any records you have along to the appointment.
