Allergy Testing

When allergy tests are performed, the idea is to get to the bottom of what is causing asthma symptoms. The tests help the doctor figure out if any allergies are a trigger for asthma. That said, these tests will never identify regular triggers ranging from exercise to stress to illness due to a cold. The fact is that allergy tests alone aren’t enough to make a diagnosis of asthma, and the doctors will look for a history of other allergic reactions as well.

There are several other allergic tests that help in identifying asthma, such as blood or skin tests. The inference from these tests can always pinpoint what is causing the asthma, resulting in proper treatment. So, once it is established that the patient is suffering from asthma, which is allergic in nature, the next thing to ask is, allergic to what? The substances which cause allergic asthma or allergens happen to be pollens of weeds, trees, grasses, dusts of many types, as well as food and medicinal items.

The allergy tests are essentially done either through pricking on the skin or through blood to ascertain the exact reason why the asthma has been triggered. When it comes to the skin prick method, a tiny quantity of allergen is pricked into the skin and, thereafter, 40 or more types of allergies are checked simultaneously. As far as blood tests are concerned, the blood is drawn from the skin and serum levels are checked for different allergens. Notably, skin tests are more reliable than blood tests.