Allergies Testing – Find Out What’s Making You Suffer

Allergies testing will help you work out exactly what is causing your allergy symptoms. Allergy testing involves a skin or blood test to determine which substance or allergen is causing the problem. Skin tests are most common as they are fast, reliable and less expensive than blood tests.

How does a skin allergies test work?

In an allergy skin test a small amount of the suspected allergen will be placed on or below the skin to see if a reaction occurs. There are three types of skin test:

Skin prick test – this involves a small drop of solution being placed on the skin and then a series of scratches or needle pricks will allow the solution to enter the skin. If the skin turns red and itchy then it shows a positive reaction and the person is allergic to that particular allergen.

Intradermal test – If a particular allergen did not cause a reaction in the skin prick test but it is still thought to be an issue then a small amount of the solution is injected into the skin.

Skin patch test – in this last type of skin allergies testing a small amount of allergen solution is placed on a pad and then taped to the skin for 24 to 72 hours. This test is used to determine if the patient has contact dermatitis.

How does a blood allergies test work?

Allergy blood tests look for antibodies in the blood and are most often used with people who cannot have the skin test performed.

The most common type of blood test is called radioallergosorbent testing or RAST and it is used to work out which allergens a patient is sensitive to.

If you would like to find out more about your allergies then talk to your doctor about allergies testing and together you can work out which test is right for you.

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