Get to Know Your Allergy Triggers

Skin Tests Help You Recognize & Avoid Allergens

-- By Leanne Beattie, Health & Fitness Writer

Knowing what you are allergic to is the first step in avoiding uncomfortable allergic reactions. While you can learn a lot by trial and error, getting tested by your doctor or allergist will give you a definitive answer, allowing you to receive proper treatment for your allergies.

What is Allergy Testing?
Doctors have been using skin tests to diagnose allergies for more than a century. These tests, which are safe for people of all ages, expose you to a minute amount of allergen, then measure how sensitive you are to the substance.

About ten days before you have a skin test, you will need to stop taking any medications that could interfere with your results. These medications include both over-the-counter and prescription antihistamines (such as fexofenadine and cetirizine), tricyclic antidepressants (amitripyline and doxepin, for example) and heartburn medications (like cimetidine and ranitidine).

Here's a rundown of the three main types of skin tests for allergies:

• Scratch test. This is the most common type of allergy testing. Tiny amounts of purified allergen samples are pricked or scratched into the surface of your skin. This test is usually used to identify dozens of allergies, such as pollen, mold, animal dander, dust mites, foods, insect venom and penicillin.
  
  (continued...)

Page 1 of 3   Next Page >       Return to Main health Page >

• JIBBIE49 "Great article. I never had allergies and I nursed my children to help them..."

See All 1  |  Leave A Comment