When you’re out walking around at Woodmansee Park and begin to experience itchy, watery eyes, congestion and sneezing, it’s likely because you’ve been exposed to an allergen. Allergens are substances that are normally harmless but that the immune system deems a threat. To fight the intruder, the immune system releases antibodies called Immunoglobulin E (IgE), which prompts your cells to release histamine. Histamine increases mucus production and causes inflammation, resulting in your allergy symptoms.
Allergy tests identify what exactly you’re allergic to so you can more easily manage your symptoms.
The Types of Allergy Tests
There are two main types of allergy tests: skin tests and blood tests.
Skin Tests
Skin tests are the gold standard option for identifying triggering allergens.
There are two ways a skin test can be administered: the skin prick method and the intradermal method.
- The skin prick method entails placing a drop of an allergen extract onto the skin and pricking the area underneath.
- The intradermal method involves injecting a diluted allergen extract into the top layer of skin.
If you’re allergic to the particular substance, a red raised bump resembling a mosquito bite, known as a wheal, will appear. The wheal is then compared to a positive control, usually histamine, and a negative control, usually saline.
Blood Tests
In most cases, blood tests are reserved for testing for food allergies, as they measure the amount of allergic antibodies produced by the body in response to various substances.
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) test is preferable over radioallergosorbent testing (RAST) in many cases.
How Safe Are Allergy Tests?
Allergy tests are performed by allergists in medical clinics, making them extremely safe. In the extremely rare case that anaphylaxis occurs, there is a medical team on standby who can respond promptly. Allergy tests are considered safe even for young children and infants.
Skin tests are not safe for some populations, including those who cannot stop their antihistamine medications, those who have extremely sensitive skin, those who take beta blockers and those who have serious heart or lung conditions. In these cases, blood testing is the preferred method.
The risks of blood testing are related to drawing blood, like the risk of fainting. For more information about allergy testing or to schedule an appointment with an allergy expert, call Willamette Ear, Nose, Throat & Facial Plastic Surgery today.
Learn More About Allergies
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