{"id":8833,"date":"2021-06-11T15:07:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T22:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/?p=8833"},"modified":"2021-06-11T15:08:01","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T22:08:01","slug":"different-types-of-allergy-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/different-types-of-allergy-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Different Types of Allergy Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When you\u2019re out walking around at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityofsalem.net\/woodmansee-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Woodmansee Park<\/a> and begin to experience itchy, watery eyes, congestion and sneezing, it\u2019s likely because you\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Allergy tests identify <a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/allergy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">what exactly you\u2019re allergic to<\/a> so you can more easily manage your symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Types of Allergy Tests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/summer-field-allergies.jpg\" alt=\"A sunset in a field during summer.\" class=\"wp-image-8835\" width=\"231\" height=\"153\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two main types of allergy tests: skin tests and blood tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Skin Tests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/acaai.org\/allergies\/treatment\/allergy-testing\/skin-test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>Skin tests<\/u><\/a> are the gold standard option for identifying triggering allergens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two ways a skin test can be administered: the skin prick method and the intradermal method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The skin prick method entails placing a drop of an allergen extract onto the skin and pricking the area underneath.<\/li><li>The intradermal method involves injecting a diluted allergen extract into the top layer of skin.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blood Tests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) test is preferable over radioallergosorbent testing (RAST) in many cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Safe Are Allergy Tests?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The risks of blood testing are related to drawing blood, like the risk of fainting. For more information about allergy testing or <a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/about\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to schedule an appointment with an allergy expert<\/a>, call Willamette Ear, Nose, Throat &amp; Facial Plastic Surgery today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Allergies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/can-allergies-cause-sinus-pressure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Can Allergies Cause Sinus Pressure?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/is-it-allergies-or-covid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Is It Allergies or COVID?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/how-spring-allergies-affect-your-ears\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How Spring Allergies Affect Your Ears<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you\u2019re out walking around at Woodmansee Park and begin to experience itchy, watery eyes, congestion and sneezing, it\u2019s likely because you\u2019ve 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),&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Allergens are substances that are normally harmless but that the immune system deems a threat. Learn more about testing methods here.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8833"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}