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Test Your Allergies - See an allergist/immunologist. Allergists/immunologists are specially trained to administer allergy tests and treat allergies. Your primary care physician or insurance company can recommend an allergist/immunologist in your area.
Discuss your allergy symptoms with the doctor administering your allergy test. Different symptoms point towards different allergens, so your doctor will use this information to design an allergy test using the most probable allergens. In general, respiratory symptoms point towards allergies to allergens like pollen and dust mites, and skin and gastrointestinal symptoms will point to food allergies.
Give your doctor a complete medical history, including any skin problems you have. There are two types of allergy tests: skin and blood. Skin tests are the most commonly used, but blood tests are used when skin tests are contra-indicated by certain medication or skin conditions.
Submit to a skin test for allergies. This is done through a prick technique in which a tiny amount of allergen extract is introduced to the skin through a needle prick.
Wait 15 minutes for the skin to react to the allergen prick. If you are allergic to the allergen, your skin will develop a small, itchy hive over the puncture site. The hive disappears in about 30 minutes.
If you have allergies, the best way to customize treatment is to test your allergies. Allergies are a reaction to a particular substance, or allergen. If you can determine what allergen(s) are causing your allergies, you can tailor your treatment specifically to that allergen. The goal of allergy tests is to expose you to several different allergens to elicit a reaction from your body. The amounts of allergens used are so small that you are not in danger of developing severe allergy symptoms.
by eHow
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Test Your Allergies
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