Overview

Diagnosis of Allergies

Diagnosing allergies involves several steps to determine if your symptoms are caused by an allergen. Your healthcare professional will typically:

  • Ask detailed questions about your symptoms

  • Perform a physical exam

  • Request a diary of symptoms and possible triggers

If a food allergy is suspected, your healthcare professional may:

  • Ask you to keep a detailed food diary

  • Check whether you’ve avoided the suspected food during the evaluation

Allergy Tests

To confirm a diagnosis, your healthcare professional may recommend one or both of the following tests. Keep in mind that allergy test results are not always 100% accurate.

1. Skin Test

  • A tiny needle pricks or scratches the skin to expose it to small amounts of allergen proteins.

  • If you are allergic, a raised bump (hive) will appear at the test site.

  • If results are unclear, an intradermal skin test may be done, where a small allergen amount is injected into the skin’s outer layer.

2. Blood Test

  • Measures the immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies your blood produces against allergens.

  • Known as specific IgE (sIgE) testing, RAST, or ImmunoCAP testing.

  • A blood sample is sent to a lab to determine sensitivity to suspected allergens.

If your healthcare professional suspects other causes for your symptoms, additional tests may be recommended.

Treatment for Allergies

Effective allergy treatment often combines avoidance, medications, immunotherapy, and emergency preparedness.

1. Avoidance of Triggers

  • Identifying and staying away from allergens is the most important step.

  • Your healthcare professional can guide you on how to recognize and avoid triggers.

2. Medications

  • Medicines help reduce the immune response and relieve symptoms.

  • Available in forms such as pills, liquids, nasal sprays, or eye drops, depending on the allergy type.

3. Immunotherapy

  • Allergy shots involve a series of purified allergen extracts to train the immune system not to overreact.

  • Treatment usually takes place over a few years.

  • Sublingual immunotherapy (tablets under the tongue) is available for some pollen allergies and works similarly to allergy shots.

4. Emergency Epinephrine

  • For severe allergies, carrying an epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen, Auvi-Q, others) is essential.

  • Epinephrine can temporarily relieve severe allergic reactions until emergency care is available.

Key Takeaways

  • Allergy diagnosis combines symptom tracking, skin or blood tests, and careful evaluation.

  • Avoidance, medications, and immunotherapy are the mainstays of treatment.

  • Severe allergies require emergency preparedness with epinephrine.

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