Allergy Testing

I've spoken in an older rambling about my allergic rhinitis, how difficult it was for the doctors to come up with a correct diagnosis and how much I had to suffer before getting the appropriate treatment for my ailment.

Allergy testing is something that I should have started with, if my family doctor was a bit more science-aware. He's not bad, but I believe he has a limited experience, because he doesn't read the latest medical journals, he never attends the specialists conferences, so he doesn't know about the latest state of the art treatments for diseases that cannot be cured, like this allergy. Testing for allergy is so simple. that when I discovered it, I was so sorry that he didn't think to make me do it earlier.

Types of Allergy Testing

1. Intradermal testing: the patient is injected a very small quantity from the suspected allergen substance under the skin. Multiple tests can be done at once, provided that the doctor or the nurse writes nearby each mark what allergen was used (like peanuts, dust, pollen, mold...). After some 30 minutes of waiting, the marks are examined: the bigger they get, the more allergic you are to the respective trigger.

2. Prick tests: this kind of allergy testing is very similar to the intradermal testing, but instead of injecting the substance, the skin is scratched and a drop of each allergen is poured on the scratch, also writing on the skin the names of the testing substances.

3. RAST and ELIZA tests: sometimes, especially if a very strong allergic reaction is suspected, intradermal testing and prick tests can be very dangerous, and even lethal. In such situations, it is advisable that the patient is taken a blood sample, and the tests are performed on that, without endangering life. The results of this type of allergy testing come after a few weeks.

If I only knew allergy testing was so easy! Not cheap, but affordable, and it improved my life.