In order to narrow down a person's possible allergies, allergic reaction tests are often used. The most common of the allergic reaction tests is the skin test, which is used to diagnose a myriad of different types of allergies. Two other options available include elimination-type tests and blood tests. Elimination-type tests are only used for food-related allergies, and blood tests are used in severe cases where other tests fail at finding the allergy triggers. Blood tests are commonly used in patients who are taking medications or have underlying illnesses that interfere with the other types of tests.
When it comes to allergic skin tests, three different methods exist. One option is using a prick test, where a physician pricks or scratches the skin with commonly known allergens and waits to see if there's a negative response. Another option is an injection test, where a small amount of suspected allergen substances are injected into the skin to see if an adverse reaction occurs. The third choice is a patch test, where the physician tapes potential allergens to the skin for 48 hours and then looks for negative responses. Skin tests are commonly used to diagnose food allergies, environmental allergies, pharmaceutical allergies, and allergic contact dermatitis.
For individuals suffering solely from food allergies, elimination-type allergic reaction tests are often used. In this type of test, foods that can be possible allergy triggers are eliminated completely from the diet for several weeks. After a few weeks, the foods are slowly entered back into the diet one at a time. As the foods are added back in, the patient is instructed to watch for any signs of allergic reaction. When allergy symptoms do resurface, the food culprit will be known.
Patients with acute or chronic allergy symptoms may find blood testing more beneficial in finding their triggers. A physician will draw out some blood to test for the amount of immunoglobulin E antibodies associated with a specific allergen. Blood tests are usually performed on patients after the other allergic reaction tests, such as the skin test, fail to provide conclusive results. For patients on medications, or those who have skin conditions such as eczema, blood testing may be the only allergic reaction test that offers positive results. Medications and certain skin conditions can interfere with the results of other allergic reaction tests.
