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May 2016 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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Testing for Allergies
Allergists use three main methods
By Charles Sebastian, Staff Writer
Allergies are a hot topic for people who live in the Bluegrass area. It
seems as soon as the spring pollen
and blooms die down, the autumn
mold and mildew start. While there
is no doubt there are allergens all
around us and they are probably
worse in some areas of the country
and the world than others, the real
question is how these allergens are
affecting the individual. We’ve all
had a conversation with someone
who was not allergic to poison ivy
or shellfish when they were in their
teens, only to find at age 45 these
formerly harmless items make them
break out, throw up or zap their
energy.
Usually doctors testing patients
for allergies will start with the
general allergies and then increase
specificity. Starting with a family
history, the allergist may find out
someone smokes or has a longhaired cat, and that can sometimes
solve the mystery of the allergic
problem without the use of skin
pricks and probes. However, some
doctors insist on doing the whole
treatment to discern whether other
allergies are affecting and even
combining forces to waylay the
patient.
There are three main skin tests:
the skin prick test (IgE Skin Test),
the intradermal test and the skin
patch test. With the skin prick test,
the skin is lightly pricked so the
allergen can come into contact with
the blood. If it results in a raised or
splotchy area, called a wheal, the
person is probably allergic to the
substance. The allergist will recommend the patient remove the food
from his or her diet.