Allergy Tests - Types and Uses

Allergies are common and can be caused due to a number of reasons. Depending on a person's body and its sensitivity towards various food items and environments, a person can turn allergic towards various food items and elements in the surroundings. If you think you or any of your family members has an allergy, the best thing to do is to go for allergy blood test. The test will help you find out if you have an allergy and if you do, what causes this condition. Once you'd know the cause, you will be able to manage the condition in a better manner and can prevent it from becoming worse.

There are some symptoms like fever that signal allergies due to pollens but it is always important to reach up to the root cause and understand the intricacies before the symptoms become too complicated. Undergoing allergy skin test or allergy blood test also helps in monitoring the condition and treating it the right way. Some children who have allergies when they're young but they get better with age and are able to get rid of them. This can only happen if regular allergy tests are performed to see if the condition is improving and if the medication is helping or not. There are various types of tests that are performed to check the type and cause of allergies. Here they are:

Blood test - Allergy blood test is also known as IgE test. In this test, human blood is tested to find out the amount of IgE antibodies. These antibodies are produced when our immune system responds to the allergen.

Food challenge - If you have an allergy due to a food item, this test is the best to determine the causes. These tests work accurately and are also known as oral challenges. To find out the causes of the food allergy, the patient is given food items that he thinks are the reasons behind the condition. The amount given is increased slowly over a period of time to see the body's reaction to it. The doctor will test on food item per appointment and will try to figure out the accurate reasons.

Skin prick test - Most of the doctors will generally perform this test before performing any other skin allergy test. This method of testing is safe, painless as well as quick. In this test, the suspected allergen is pricked into your body to find out if there's any reaction. Results of this test are made available in just 20 minutes.

If you think you're suffering from an allergy, make sure you reach out to your doctor to perform the above mentioned tests.