How to test for Allergens

The right care can make a difference for a person suffering allergies. Allergy tests combined with the knowledge of your allergy specialist can help in treating and managing allergies. Testing done by an allergist is generally safe and effective for diagnosing and treating allergies symptoms from the root cause.

There are 3 main ways used for finding out if you are allergic to a suspected allergen.   

First you may need to see an allergist to take an allergy test. 

 You can use the most common type of test called the skin test, whereby food extracts are placed on skin, after it's pickled to allow for best penetration, if you develop an allergic reaction like an itch or hives you're allergic to that particular substance. 

Radioallergosorbent test (RAST) Blood study: This is a safer test for those who are hypersensitive or those who have severe reactions to skin test. Here small amounts of food extracts are mixed with client’s blood and analyzed for signs of an antibody reaction.

Medically Supervised elimination diet and challenge tests: Hypoallergenic foods that are likely to cause an allergic reaction for 7 to 10days are used to determine the patient’s susceptibility to the diet. After the symptoms are gone, if there are no reactions then you know you are not allergic but if symptoms continues you are reacting to something other than the food. Your doctor could administer small amounts of food or food extracts to determine if you allergic to something in particular. After an allergen has been identified, eliminating the culprit food usually helps to solve the problem. Some foods are chemically related, for example, a person allergic to lemons may also be allergic to oranges and other citrus fruits. Some allergic reaction can be triggered by contaminants or food additives for example a person who is allergic to peanuts can also be allergic to oil containing a trace of a similar nut.