Question regarding allergy tests?

[Chanel_no5]

Hey guys, I have a question. Allergy tests. That is, skin tests, being exposed to the allergen and see how much of a skin reaction they provoke.

Can anyone who's had one of those tell me the procedure? How long does it take, what does it feel like (I can imagine, but I need some confirmation), for how long do you have to go without antihistamines in advance so not to compromise the test? Can you take your medication right after the test is done? What are the allergens they normally test for, if you don't have a specific thing you're testing for?

It's for a fic I'm writing. (she claims, while drooling like a hound. No, seriously, it actually is for a fic. )

 

Edited January 29, 2017 by Chanel_no5

[Melody]

I've only ever had a blood tests and a skin scratching. They weren't trying to find one allergy in particular so I assume they test the sample against a range of common allergens. 

[Chanel_no5]

Yeah, I've had the simple blood test one too. I mean those where you have like a full chart of allergens on the back or arm. I don't know the English term for that type of test. It's probably quite outdated now that they can simply check antibodies in a blood sample, but nevertheless.  

 

 

 

[Dusty15]

Hi! I've gone through this twice in the past few months.

How long does it take - It takes only a few minutes for them to apply the test. They write several columns of numbers on your arm (or on your back if you're having a HUGE panel, but that's more rare) and then they take a tray of small samples of each allergen with a little cap on top of each that has a tiny prick needle in it. They swab your arm with alcohol and then put a drop of the allergen in a spot and prick it with the tiny needle. They go down the arm, drop of allergen and prick with needle over and over. Then they leave you for 10 minutes where you're not allowed to scratch or touch your test arm. When they come back, they do a measurement of each testing area, and areas that swell and react beyond a certain size are considered potential allergies and the size indicates how severely you react. 

What does it feel like (I can imagine, but I need some confirmation)- The pricks themselves are not too painful. Very quick and it's only a surface stab. Like poking your arm gently with a pin. After a few minutes, if you react to anything, your arm can start to itch. A lot. 

For how long do you have to go without antihistamines in advance so not to compromise the test?- At least 3 days. No medications, no steroid eyedrops or nasal sprays. You can use saline drops and sprays though. 

Can you take your medication right after the test is done?- Yes! 

What are the allergens they normally test for, if you don't have a specific thing you're testing for? - The panel I had was the standard allergy panel they give when you first get testing and it has the most common allergens. From memory, it has: Cat dander, cat saliva, dog dander, ragweed, birch, oak, grass mix (timothy, meadow, etc), 2 types of mold, house dust mite, cockroach, milk, egg, wheat, and probably a few other pollens from weeds, etc. They also do a control of saline and a control of a histamine to make sure your skin doesn't just react to any prick and to make sure your body does react to histamines. 

 

Here's my arm about 5 minutes in...right before it got REALLY ITCHY and some more spots swelled up. But I didn't do too badly

 

[Chanel_no5]

Oh thank you so much! That helps a lot!!

Also, I'm itching to scratch your arm!  And that's not even as bad as some pictures I've seen on Google. Holy shit. Looks like a run-in with stinging nettles, those are nasty.

(I'm going with the back panel for the fic though, because, well... I have a reason.  )

Thank you again!  

 

[Dusty15]

No problem! I was secretly perving the whole thing. I was getting the testing mostly done because of hives, but going off meds for 3 days was bad enough in winter in terms of nasal allergies to give me plenty of mental fodder for actual severe hay fever sufferers going through it. And then yes, some of the Google pics of prick tests it's like OUCH THAT LOOKS REALLY ITCHY. It is definitely itchy. I was scratching my arm for 2 days even after going back on meds just 'cause it was irritated from all the pokes!

[Shay]

I've had allergy testing done more than once at a couple of different clinics and some things were the same but others were different. They always said to stop all allergy meds for at least a week before the test. At least one of the tests had a whole list of supposedly unrelated meds you were supposed to stop as well and I think some of them were even psych meds, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't a requirement of the last one I had done. I think sometimes the protocol can change over the years or from clinic to clinic. Meds could be resumed after the test was done.

One time I just had a standard scratch test done where they'd sort of use eye droppers to place a small amount of allergen on the arm, and then on each spot they'd use a needle to scratch the liquid allergens into the skin. It wasn't painful at all. Then at this other clinic they had this scary looking device that was like a plastic tray that had a whole bunch of needles sticking out the bottom of it and they pressed the whole thing down into your arm getting small amounts of allergen under your skin all at once. This really didn't hurt that much. It was the look of the thing that was worse than how it felt. Then the second time I had it done at this location, in addition to the "tray of spikes" they did a part two where they injected larger amounts of allergen under the skin of my upper arms. This was a bit more discomfort but still not too bad. I think each part of the test had about a 15-20 minute wait to see if there would be any reactions.

As for the stuff they tested me for, I don't remember the specifics of each time I had it done, but I think the most recent one tested me for dust, various tree/grass/ragweed pollens, various types of mold, and some common food and pet allergies.