Wagga doctor Theresa Pitts runs the only allergy clinic for children in regional NSW.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The paediatrician, who runs her clinic monthly, sees about 200 children a year.
"And there's a good waiting list all across the Riverina," Dr Pitts said.
"Most paediatric allergies are dealt with in tertiary hospitals in Sydney or Melbourne or Canberra."
Australia is sometimes called the "allergy capital of the world" because the prevalence of allergies is so high - one in five people are affected by them.
A parliamentary report into allergies and anaphylaxis in Australia, released this week, recommended federal government funding support for doctors and health workers to provide more support to allergy patients in regional Australia.
Dr Pitts said most adults in the Riverina who had allergies "end up going to Canberra" to see a specialist.
"A lot of parents say to me, 'Oh can you just test me, I've got all these all these allergies as well.' And I have to say, 'Nope, sorry'," she said.
Even for an expert like Dr Pitts, much of allergic disease remains a mystery.
Dr Pitts said in some cases "a combination of genetic reasons" and environmental factors contributed to a person developing allergies, while in others it was "just bad luck".
In other news:
She said she supported the idea of more funding for allergy treatment in regional areas.
"People struggle with travel and the costs of going to a tertiary centre. If as much can be done locally as possible and patients are not out of pocket with it, I think that's a very positive thing for regional areas," she said.
Federal MP Trent Zimmerman, who chairs the committee which oversaw the allergy inquiry, said he hoped the report would be a "game changer" for treatment.
"We did hear considerable evidence about the problems facing patients in regional Australia. Waiting lists and access to services are bad wherever you are but they're obviously more significant if you come from a regional area," Mr Zimmerman said.
"What we're keen to do is look at what better support can be provided ... but also using things like telehealth as much as we possibly can so people don't have to leave."