How to Get Allergy Testing Done
By: Paul FryattTotal Views: 234, Word Count: 680,
With 50 million people suffering from one more allergies in USA, allergy testing has become an important procedure. Allergy testing is done to ascertain whether a person has allergy and what are the allergens causing allergy. People need tips on how to get allergy testing done because they feel it is a difficult procedure.
Allergic symptoms can interfere in your day to day life. Problems like food allergy, asthma, allergy of the respiratory system, affect your performance and reduce the feeling of general well being. In case of children, frequent occurrence of allergic symptoms can result in stunted growth. Thus identification and treatment of allergy is important for all those who suffer.
The first step in the treatment of allergy is to visit your doctor and share with him all the details and symptoms. If your doctor finds it necessary then he will send you to an allergy specialist who will recommend when and how the allergy testing is done.
Tests for allergy are conducted in the following ways:
Blood test: In blood based allergy test a small amount of blood sample is taken by the physician in order to test the amount of immunoglobulin in the body. Blood tests are simple but skin tests give more detailed and specific results. However, for people suffering from ailments, small children, old people, skin test might not be possible and blood test is the only way to test.
Skin test: Skin tests are performed in three ways. First is the prick test where skin is pricked or scratched and one or multiple allergens are put inside the skin. The patient has to wait for 15-20 minutes after which the allergist observes specific signs like redness or swelling.
In a second type of skin test the suspected allergen is tied on a part of the skin and the patient is observed for a day to check whether the patient is actually allergic to that substance.
The third type of skin testing is known as intradermal test. A small amount of allergen is injected inside the body of the person and watched to see the reaction. This test is done to find whether the person is specifically allergic to things like bee venom or penicillin.
Tips on how to get allergy testing done:
- Prepare yourself well for the test. The allergist will ask you a set of questions before the test. Do your homework and be prepared with all the details related to your allergic symptoms. The best way is to record the events on the paper so that you do not forget to share any important detail with the doctor. The doctor will only be able to diagnose after correlating the test results and the symptoms that you have told him.
- Consult the allergist regarding what food or medicine you should avoid before the test. For example, if you have taken anti histamine before the test then the results can be false- negative.
- It’s a myth that skin tests for allergy are painful. You might experience slight itching or inflammation but there is nothing to worry.
- Chose a good allergy specialist for the tests. Especially in case of the kids the pediatrician should be present along with the allergist when the skin tests are performed.
Getting an allergy testing done is not very complicated. However, the procedure requires expert medical supervision and right interpretation of the results.
About the Author
Allergist Paul Fryatt, M.D. has been in this profession from last 24 years. He made great achievements in his profession. He made an initiative to open a Family Allergy Clinic in 1985 to help his patients who were not reacting to traditional allergy treatment programs. Moreover he has explored the treatment to overcome allergy symptoms to reclaim quality of life through his convenient, no-shots therapy.
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