Hay Fever

Your healthcare provider will examine you, ask about your symptoms and evaluate you for other conditions, such as a cold or asthma. They can also perform allergy tests.

A blood allergy test measures antibodies to an allergen in a sample of your blood. This blood test is called an immunoglobulin E (IgE) test. It can detect most types of allergies, including food allergies.

Your provider may also recommend a skin prick and/or intradermal test to determine what allergens are causing your symptoms. In a skin prick test, your provider places a small sample of different allergens on your skin (usually on your forearm or back). They scratch or prick your skin with a needle. If you’re allergic to a specific allergen, the area will become red, itchy and irritated in 15 to 30 minutes. Intradermal testing is similar, but your allergist places the allergen underneath your skin. Your skin reacts in the same way it does for a prick test.