2 Kinds Of Allergy Skin Testing

2 Kinds Of Allergy Skin Testing

10 March 2020
 Categories: Health & Medical , Blog


If you think that you might have specific allergies, your primary care physician is going to send you for allergy testing. That way you can find out exactly what you are allergic to and how allergic you are to it. There are a number of ways that the allergist may do the testing on you. 

Patch Testing

One of the things that the allergist might do is patch testing. This kind of testing is done just for contact allergies. Those are allergic reactions that you get because you brushed up against an allergen or have had skin contact with that allergen. For example, this would be the test to find out if you are allergic to specific laundry detergents or fabric softeners. The way that it works is that the doctor will mark off your back into a grid. In each grid, they will put a numbered patch. The doctor will keep track of what patch has what allergen on it. Then you go home. You will go back in about 48 hours to have the patches removed and to read the test results. Your doctor may also ask you to go back at a later time to read a test result after a longer period of time. 

Prick Testing

This testing is something that will happen at the doctor's office. They are going to test how things that you might ingest can affect you. The way that these tests work is similar to the patch test, only instead of putting a patch of the allergen on your skin, they will prick the skin with it. Then the doctor will watch the different areas to see what kind of reaction you have to the introduction of the various allergens. Prick tests can be dangerous if you are extremely sensitive to something, so they should only be done under a doctor's supervision in an office where they have medication to treat you if your reactions to the testing become severe. After the appropriate time, the doctor will check the reactions and tell you what kind of allergies you have and what the general severity level of your allergy is. 

If you are worried about allergies, then you need to make sure that you get tested in order to have the appropriate treatment. There are a number of tests that your allergist can use to help determine what your allergies are and what your basic sensitivities are. 

To learn more, contact a doctor that offers patch test services.