During the summer months when many families like to go outdoors, walking, camping, or just out for a days picnic in the countryside, such days can be hazardous for some people who are prone to eye allergies, or any other kind of allergy.

At this time of the year, grass, weeds, and flowers are producing pollen, molds are active, and the pollen can trigger of allergic symptoms such as itchy eyes, watery eyes and sneezing, whilst insect bites may cause other kinds of allergic problems.

Very often a person has heard of other people who suffer from such environmental allergies and is non to sure if he/she is equally prone to such conditions, or indeed may already be suffering from a symptom which has not yet been treated.

There are methods by which a person who suspects that they may have an allergy, but are uncertain about it, and don’t know just what kind of allergy they may be prone to. This method is known as Allergy Testing.

Some Types of Allergy Tests.

  1. Prick Tests. A small amount if allergen is placed on the skin, and a small scratch is made to absorb the allergen. If the person is allergic to that specific allergen then a swelling will appear at the location of the prick. The result to the prick test is available within 15 minutes.
  1. Intradermal Testing. These are used if a prick test is not conclusive, but this time a specific allergen is actually injected under the skin, then any resultant swelling will confirm that the person is allergic to the allergen injected.
  1. Blood Tests (RAST.) In this test a sample of blood is taken and sent to a laboratory for allergen testing. The RAST test (radioallergosorbent test) is an allergen specific IgE antibody test. It screens for immune system reaction to the introduction of allergens to the person, and can so identify which allergens a person is susceptible to. This form of testing, although very effective can be expensive and the results are not speedily available.
  1. Challenge Test. Under controlled conditions, the doctor will ask the patient to either eat or inhale very small quantities of a possible allergen, the result can be monitored by the RAST test described above.

Any kind of allergy testing should always be carried out by a certified immunologist or trained allergist, then, when the results are known, a plan can be developed for the treatment of the allergy, aimed specifically at the allergen which has been identified.

Tags: , , ,