The first important step in battling allergies is finding out what you’re allergic to. Upon the onset of allergy symptoms, head your way to a physician or allergist to identify what triggered the reaction. Allergy Skin Testing is a safe and easy way for them to find out and confirm the allergens that caused the allergic reaction, and it can be performed on both children and adults.

Common allergy symptoms that may need you to get an allergy skin testing include: Itchiness in the eyes, nose, throat, and skin, runny nose, watery eyes, blocked sinuses, coughing, sneezing, hives, eczema, nasal congestion, and anaphylaxis in severe cases.

Through allergy testing, you will be able to find out what particular substances you may be allergic to. Allergens that are used in allergy skin tests include dust mites, pollen, pet dander and hair, insect venom, natural rubber latex, food components, and medications.

There are three kinds of allergy testing performed:

Scratch Test or also known as a prick or puncture test, wherein your doctor will place a drop of various allergens, usually on the forearm or back. A sterile needle is used to prick the skin to introduce the allergen. A reaction or lack thereof will determine if you’re allergic to the substance.

Intradermal Skin Test is similar to the scratch test but instead of pricking the skin, the allergen is injected under the skin using a syringe. Your skin’s reaction to it will determine if you’re allergic to it or not. This method is usually used to test insect venom and medication allergies.

Skin testing results are immediately evaluated as the reactions usually appear within minutes after the test is administered. It is also important to not take any medication before the test as it may interfere with the results.

Is skin testing safe? There may be a mild irritation caused by a positive allergic reaction but it fully safe when done correctly.

When identification of allergens via skin testing is not possible due to several reasons like the patient is suffering a severe skin condition or the patient is under medication -- an Allergy Blood Test can be used instead. 

A blood sample is taken and sent to the lab for testing with various allergens. Blood tests may take a few days before results can be derived and it also costs more than skin tests.

A known allergy blood test is the allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) blood test. An allergic reaction occurs when the immune system is subjected to allergens and overreacts to it. The body perceives allergens as a threat and signals the need for protection to our immune system, therefore producing antibodies called immunoglobulin E.

Your test results will identify your allergens so you will know what to avoid in the future. These tests are important for easy allergy management when you are exposed to allergens.

February 16, 2016 — Admin Cottonique

Comments

Mrinal Mondal said:

Coming across such an educative blog really helps a person to take good notice of the allergy symptoms that he or she might be experiencing. And after identifying what triggers the symptoms, it is also vital to consult with an allergist and conduct allergy skin tests in Kolkata.

Taylor Bishop said:

I wanted to thank you for this article about allergy tests. I didn’t know that an intradermal skin test can help determine if someone is allergic to medication. I’m interested to learn if it tests specific medications or just chemicals that can be used in medication. http://midamericaent.com/nose/

Derek Dewitt said:

A friend of mine thinks her son might be allergic to nuts, so thanks for sharing this. I had no idea that a skin prick could be used to test for allergies. I might suggest she get this done soon so they know for sure what’s causing the rashes. https://ashburnallergy.com/services/

ayida said:

Thanks for this post. Most of the people are unaware of the types of tests that are available. Its important create awareness for these kind of tests, so that they can prevent the situation to an extend. My friend got allergy tested from http://www.fml-dubai.com/food-intolerance/ and luckily the result shows no sign of allergy.

Alison Hamilton said:

Hello my name is Alison Hamilton and I just wanted to drop you a quick note here instead of calling you. I came to your Think You Got the Allergies? Get an Allergy Test First! – Cottonique – Allergy-free Apparel website and noticed you could have a lot more hits. I have found that the key to running a successful website is making sure the visitors you are getting are interested in your website topic. There is a company that you can get keyword targeted traffic from and they let you try their service for free for 7 days. I managed to get over 300 targeted visitors to day to my website. http://thfox.com/500s

Lillian Schaeffer said:

I like how you pointed out that an allergy skin test is a safe way to figure out what you’re allergic to. My son has been having problems with itchy eyes and hives, and I’m not sure what he’s having a reaction to. Perhaps it would be a good idea to visit a professional and have a skin test done so we can figure that out. http://www.oregonallergyasthma.com/services.html

emily bennette said:

This is some really good information about allergy test. I like that it would be a good thing to know about different ways to find out if you have any. My family has a lot of allergies and it seems to like it would be smart for my nephew to get tested. That way he can get treatment for them. http://cookinghamallergy.com/

Theodore Winston said:

That’s really good to know that there are so many test available in order to find out what a person is allergic to. I’ve been meaning to look into getting myself tested for awhile now, but I didn’t really what kind of tests they would have to do. After reading this list, I feel a bit more comfortable with the idea of visiting an allergy physician to get tested. I appreciate the good article!

April Cook said:

I’ve been dealing with allergies for the past few years, but hey are getting worse each spring. I think it’s time for me to see and allergist and find out exactly what is going on. How do doctors determine what type of test to use? Hopefully I can get some answers and figure out what to avoid in the future. Thanks for this helpful information! http://www.drdianeozog.com

Sarah Anderson said:

I haven’t had an allergy test before, I really should do it so I can know what I should avoid. It could be bad if I eat something I am extremely allergic to and didn’t know it. The one I would do is probably the scratch test, because that’s the one I always hear about others getting and how accurate it is.

Patricia Anderson said:

The scratch test sounds interesting as a skin allergy testing. That is cool that they just test a bunch of allergens on your skin by sticking you with a needle. Do they do all the tests at once? How do they know what to test on you? I want to get try this out just to see if I’m allergic to anything, I’ll talk to my doctor and see if they offer this.
http://southernallergy.net/services.html

Leave a comment

Please note: comments must be approved before they are published.