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I have been diagnosed with an almond and hazelnut allergy. I’ve had a couple of allergic reactions to almonds (one much more serious than the other) but in the process of diagnosis for this, the skin test also showed an allergy to hazelnuts. I’m not aware that I’ve had any adverse reactions to hazelnuts before. Although I rarely eat hazelnuts, only occasionally in Nutella.

Do you agree I should avoid hazelnuts based on the results of the skin test, despite not experiencing any issues so far as I recall? I was also advised I should avoid chestnuts since they are related to hazelnuts. What are your thoughts on this?

Hi – chestnut allergy is rare so only need to avoid this if you have specific reason to ie previous reaction or a positive test to it. As for hazelnut, the allergy test needs to be pretty convincing if you are to start avoiding it having previously tolerated it. I would ask the doctor how convinced he is of the allergy on the basis of the test you had and if it is not a very clear positive request a food challenge to clarify.