There are lots of tell-tale signs to look for if you think you might be experiencing allergy symptoms. Signs such as frequent sneezing, itchy or watery eyes and a congested nose. You may experience problems when you eat certain foods. All of these symptoms could be related to allergies. But how do you know for sure?

Your health care provider may order an allergy blood test for you (although skin prick testing is often a preferred way of diagnosing allergy).

In this article, we’re going to look at when an allergy blood test could be done and how the test is performed. We’ll talk about how accurate allergy blood testing is, and we’ll also explain what the test results can show.

An allergy blood test is the same as any other blood test: a small amount of your blood is sent to a lab for analysis.

There are lots of tell-tale signs to look for if you think you might be experiencing allergy symptoms. Signs such as frequent sneezing, itchy or watery eyes and a congested nose. You may experience problems when you eat certain foods. All of these symptoms could be related to allergies. But how do you know for sure?

Skin prick tests are the most common methods to test for allergy, but there are times when a blood test for allergy may be done along with skin prick tests or even instead of skin prick tests.

Allergy blood tests are especially useful if you have a skin condition. Or if you are taking certain medications that could interfere with the skin prick test results They may also be used if the results from skin prick tests did not give clear results.

Sensitization is the first step in developing an allergy. Allergic reactions do not happen the first time you encounter an allergen. First, your immune system has to register the allergen and build the specific IgE antibody against it. This process is called sensitization.

If you’re allergic, the next encounter with the allergen might then trigger an allergic reaction. However, some people are sensitized and have specific IgE antibodies, but don’t experience any allergic reaction no matter how often they are in contact with the allergen.

That means an allergy blood test shows if you’re sensitized to a specific trigger. Not that you are necessarily allergic to it. Only in connection with your symptoms and medical history a health care provider will be able to interpret the results in order to give a diagnosis of allergy.

If your allergy symptoms are mild and the cause is obvious, your health care provider will be able to offer advice and discuss treatment options with you. But you may be referred for an allergy blood test of a specific range of triggers if your allergy is more severe or it’s not clear what’s causing your symptoms.

Skin prick tests are the most common methods to test for allergy, but there are times when a blood test for allergy may be done along with skin prick tests or even instead of skin prick tests.

Allergy blood tests are especially useful if you have a skin condition. Or if you are taking certain medications that could interfere with the skin prick test results They may also be used if the results from skin prick tests did not give clear results.