How do you Test for Allergies? Articles | Allergies

By: Allergies Web

When does a doctor require an allergy test to be done? It could for several reasons which include:

• Your current allergy medicines are not proving to be adequate in providing relief from symptoms.
• You have experienced some severe allergic reactions and it requires further probing regarding cause of origin, etc.
• Your allergic condition is deteriorating with time.
• To know what are the allergens to be avoided

Allergy tests are fairly simple procedures which are normally conducted in the doctors’ chamber and the results become known nearly instantly. There are three types of skin tests and people prefer one of the three to determine which allergens would affect the individual most – as the test is less expensive than a blood test and the results are obtained faster in an easy way.

The Skin Prick test is one of the most common allergy tests available which offer quick and accurate results. The test involves using 15 to 20 needles which are dipped into individual allergen solutions and pressed on to the skin of the body’s back portion. Not taking more than 20 minutes to be completed, this test is considered to be very reliable. One the solution is allowed to seep through the skin, the doctor checks where there is any redness, inflammation, bumps, hives or any other form of reaction. Since there could be more than 100 pricks on the skin during a particular test session, you could expect a mild itchiness on the area, which can be taken care of by a mild anti-histaminic or any other prescription drug of the doctor’s choice. This test can conveniently inform you what allergens you need to be cautious about: from air borne allergens, foods to any particular ingredient of a drug which you may be prescribed.

In case the Skin Prick test yields negative results while the allergic symptoms continue, doctors often recommend an intra-dermal test which involves injecting a small quantity of allergen serum in to the skin, to check for any reactions. This test is normally done to check only a few allergens.

There is a common allergy type called contact dermatitis. To check whether you are prone to having this type of allergy doctors would do a skin patch test. This test involves placing a patch that has been prepared in an allergen solution on to the skin for 24 to 72 hours.

It is possible that skin tests are not possible on some patients who are on specific kinds of medication, which are likely to interfere with the results of allergy tests, or are suffering from some severe case of eczema which makes it impossible for test results to be clearly visible. For testing allergy for such patients doctors normally recommend a radio-allergo-sorbent (RAST) blood test. While this type of blood test would enable the doctor to measure the immunoglobin E and lgE levels of both allergic and asthmatic patients, it is not as accurate as skin tests mentioned earlier. This is the reason, why this type of tests are reserved for people who are incapable of undergoing skin tests or have proved themselves to be positive for too many foods, and the doctor wants to have more detailed analysis of his condition.

Allergy tests are fairly simple and provide accurate results. These tests allow the patient as well as the doctor to pin-point the specific allergens which cause distress and in turn can provide the doctor the clue for getting the patient on the right track, as far as medication is concerned. The results may also enable a doctor to delete some of his current medications and put the patient on a different course of therapy regimen.