Identifying The Causes Your Allergies Accurately

When Mayo Clinic conducted a test on patients, to determine if the patients were able to guess which substances they were allergic to before getting allergy tests. To their surprise(and mine,too) 70% were wrong.

All allergies are caused by one thing, that is the overreaction of your immune system. Of course, in order to prevent, cure or relieve allergies, you first need to know what substances you are allergic to. When you know the allergens of your body, you can now effectively avoid those substances, and have at least some ways to deal with them(well, if you think you don't have what it takes to combat allergies, I am here, the blog will always be here, and there is the helpful doctor you can get help from at the nearest clinic or hospital.)

How to identify your allergies (with the help of your allergist please) :-)

Skin tests
The most commonly used is the skin prick test. A drop of suspected allergen solution is put on the skin of the arm, and pricked into the skin with a needle, with other allergen solutions to be applied with new fresh needle, each time.

It usually takes only 20 minutes for any reaction to become apparent. A positive reaction is shown with redness and swelling.

Blood tests
A blood sample is taken and examined for Immunoglobulin E. And based on the amount of IgE, the allergist is able to determine if you are affected by allergy.

These two tests were carried out most of the time to identify allergies and allergens.

Blood test is more accurate than skin test, especially when the patient is allergic to more than one substance. When the allergens are determined, the patient will then be given a set of treatments by the allergist, most of the time. Most probably, the patient will be given desensitization treatment. This treatment will last about five years, the patient is given the first small shot of allergens(weakened) into the body, and for each shot, the concentration is increased.