Trained allergy specialists perform allergy tests or exams to determine whether your body has an allergic reaction to a known substance. Allergy tests are performed by a specialist using a blood test, skin test, or an elimination test. Allergies result as a reaction of your body’s natural immune system overreacting to something in your environment. For instance, the normally harmless pollen can bring out overreactions from your body resulting in a runny nose, sneezing, blocked sinuses, and itchy and watery eyes.

What Causes Allergies?

Allergies are caused by allergens, and there are three types of allergens. There are inhaled, ingested, and contact allergens. Inhaled allergens affect your body when they come in contact with your lungs or membranes of the nostrils or throat. The most common form of inhaled allergens is pollen. Ingested allergens are present in some foods like peanuts, soy, and seafood. Contact allergens must come in contact with your skin to produce any reactions. For example, a response from a contact allergen caused by poison ivy is usually a rash or itching. Allergy testing near you involves exposing you to a minuscule amount of a specific allergen to record the reaction.

Why Is Allergy Testing Essential?

Over 50 million people living in the US are affected by allergies, states the American college of allergy, asthma, and immunology. Inhaled allergens are the most common with seasonal allergies, hay fever, and allergic response to pollen affecting over 40 million Americans. Asthma is responsible for over 250,000 deaths every year which are avoidable with proper allergy testing treatment. Asthma is considered an allergic disease process and needs allergy testing to prevent a significant number of fatalities. Allergy testing helps resolve which pollens, molds, and substances you are allergic to and need remedies to help overcome the allergies. Alternatively of avoiding allergy triggers is another method you can try.

Performing Allergy Testing

The allergy testing procedure might involve a skin test or the test. If your healthcare provider thinks you may have a food allergy, you might undergo an elimination test. Healthcare providers from South Florida ENT associates use skin tests to detect potential allergens, including airborne, food-related, and contact allergens. They employ three kinds of skin tests. They are the scratch test, the intradermal test, and the patch test. If the doctor suspects you might have a severe allergic reaction to a skin test, they may request a blood test. Your blood is tested in a laboratory in the presence of antibodies capable of fighting specific allergens. For example, the test known as immunoCAP is incredibly successful in detecting IgE antibodies to significant allergens. An elimination diet helps the doctor from ENT in Palm Beach determine the foods causing an allergic reaction in you. It involves removing certain foods from your diet and adding them back later. Your responses help the professional to determine which foods are causing problems.

Allergy Testing Risks

Allergy tests may result in mild itching, swelling of the skin, and redness. Sometimes you may notice small bumps appear on the skin but subside within a few hours or last for a few days. The risks are comfortably manageable using mild topical steroid creams. Rarely allergy tests produce immediate severe reactions requiring medical attention. It is why allergy testing treatment is best conducted in an office having adequate medicine and equipment even to treat anaphylaxis, a life-threatening and acute allergic reaction. You must call your doctor immediately if you develop any severe reactions soon after leaving the doctor’s office.

Is Allergy Testing Treatment Expensive?

The allergy testing cost will depend on the specific test or tests you need to undergo, your geographical location, the doctor’s experience, and the kind of infrastructure the clinic has to provide allergy testing treatment. Receiving the treatment from an experienced provider with the infrastructure and equipment needed to manage all situations will likely cost you more than any other doctor. However, it also ensures you are safe from any reactions that the testing may cause to leave you with life-threatening complications.

What Can Do after Allergy Testing?

After your doctor has determined the allergens causing your problems, you can work with the professional to create a treatment plan for avoiding the allergens. The doctor may suggest medications to ease your symptoms if required. However, if you are allergic to any substances, avoiding allergic testing treatment proves detrimental to your overall health. Therefore you must obtain the treatment as soon as possible to identify the allergens concerning you and receive treatments against them to maintain your health in excellent condition.