Dietary Treatment for Chronic Urticaria (DTCU)
Diet Modification, Chronic Urticaria
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Diet Modification
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Urticaria +/- angioedema present for a minimum of 6 weeks;
- Agree to be on anti-histamine prn;
- Age older than 8 years old, with no upper age limit;
- Causes such as parasite infestation, microbial and viral infections, autoimmune disease, or other pathology that could account for the U/A/P should be excluded;
- Skin prick test and/or radioallergosorbent (RAST) test are negative for all food allergens tested, or patient had achieved no symptomatic improvement after strict avoidance of all skin test-positive foods;
Exclusion Criteria:
- Pregnant or breast feeding women;
- Patients who is taking central nervous system (CNS) acting agents (including tranquilizers, antidepressants, sedatives, hypnotics or antiepileptics) at any time;
Sites / Locations
- Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Active Comparator
Treatment group (on low histamine diet)
Well-balanced diet
78 subjects who come to Allergy Centre for treatment of idiopathic urticaria, with or without angioedema and pruritus (U/A/P), will be randomized into two parallel groups; treatment group (TG) will be asked to follow a histamine-restricted diet for 4 weeks and the control group (CG) will be asked to follow a well-balanced diet instructed by a dietitian for 4 weeks. A well-balanced diet for the CG subject is tailor-made by the dietitian according to subject's usual intake to ensure that the subject's energy requirement is met and all food groups are consumed.
Diet tailor-made by the dietitian according to subject's usual intake to ensure that the subject's energy requirement is met and all food groups are consumed.