People are allergic to many things. Some people are allergic to pollen, others to peanut butter, and some to dairy. The nature and reaction caused by an allergy can vary drastically depending upon a person’s tolerance. An allergy is simply defined as a damaging response by a person’s immune system caused due to an intake of a particular substance. It can be incredibly harmful, and if medical attention is not sought immediately after consumption, it can even cause death. Each year, there are countless deaths throughout the globe where people who suffered from a particular allergy died because they did not get medical attention on time.
A common issue that arises is that many people don’t know exactly what they are allergic to until they suffer from a serious reaction, multiple times. If you want to avoid risking death due to an allergy, it’s best to visit a local clinic that offers allergy testing with blood. Here are a few things that you should know about the procedure and some important things that are related to the process.
Types of Tests
Allergy blood tests are designed to detect the number of allergen-specific antibodies that exist within a person’s blood. When you come into contact with an allergy trigger, the body begins using antibodies. The antibodies then force the cells to release different chemicals, which is what triggers the allergy symptoms in your body. Most allergy blood screening tests usually look for the 10 most common allergies that are found in humans, mainly including weeds, mold, pet dander, trees, dust, grass, pollen, and other triggers depending on where you live.
The procedure is actually quite simple. It just requires the doctor to take a bit of blood from a patient and then test it for the allergens. The procedure is actually quite simple and can be carried out at your local clinic. If you feel that you are allergic to something, but don’t know exactly what, going to the clinic for a blood test is a great idea. It will help you figure out what things you need to avoid in your life and what is expected to cause problems.
Why Are These Tests Done?
There are many reasons why blood tests are done to determine allergies. While the preferred method is still allergy skin testing, most people prefer relying on blood tests because of several reasons. These are generally required if:
- A medicine interferes with the test results and the patient is ordered not to stop taking the medication for a few days at least
- The patient has an unstable heart condition
- The patient is unable to tolerate the numerous scratches made on the skin
- The patient has severe dermatitis or eczema that makes it difficult for the doctors to make scratches on the skin
The patient has a debilitating reaction to their skin condition that causes difficulty in conducting the skin testing, a blood test might be ordered.