Allergy Diagnosis
An allergist or an immunologist can help you determine whether the symptoms you’re experiencing are related to an allergy. It’s important to see an allergist or immunologist instead of diagnosing yourself and taking over the counter medications. If you take more than one over-the-counter medication, you may be risking a dangerous interaction. Plus, without a proper medical diagnosis, you have no way of knowing whether the medication you’re using is really right for your symptoms or ailment.
Find an allergist by asking your primary care physician for a referral. You can also ask family and friends whether they know of a good one. Before visiting the allergist, it’s important to prepare. You can do this by keeping a journal of your symptoms to give to the specialist. You should also write down any questions you may have for the doctor. Once you go to your appointment, jot down what the allergist tells you so you don’t forget anything.
The allergist will ask about your medical background. He or she will want to know your symptoms and how long you’ve had them. The allergist will probably ask whether allergies run in your family. He or she may ask what aggravated your symptoms, and what alleviates them, if anything. The doctor will most likely want to know if you’re currently taking any medication for allergies or otherwise.
If you or your doctor suspects that you’re allergic to a certain food, he or she will probably ask you to eliminate that food from your diet for a few weeks, while you closely observe and record any changes in your condition. He or she may then have you reintroduce the food into your diet, to see of there is any increase or decrease in symptoms. Of course, if there is a direct correlation, you will ultimately be advised to abstain from eating that food altogether.
If you think that your allergic reaction is a result of coming into contact with a substance, the allergist will scratch a tiny bit of the suspected substance into the skin of your back or inner forearm. If you can’t pinpoint just one possible allergen, you doctor will create a grid of shallow scratches, with each scratch containing a different possible allergen. If there’s a local, or topical, reaction such as itching redness, or a raised rash, you’ll have identified the culprit. Of course, if the allergist suspects that you may have an anaphylactic reaction to s certain substance, he or she will not test that substance on you. Instead, he or she will advise you as to how to handle such an emergency, should it occur.
Another method of diagnosing allergies is a specialized blood test called the radioallergosorbent (RAST) test. A RAST test looks for allergen-specific antibodies in your blood. A RAST test is not entirely conclusive; people do have positive results without manifesting allergy symptoms, so it’s possible to have allergy-like symptoms and a positive RAST test without actually having allergies, but another condition with similar symptoms. That’s why the allergists take a through medical history. He or she needs to keep all this information in mind in order to make an educated and accurate diagnosis.