Allergy and Asthma

The process of diagnosing and treating an allergy is a kind of revolving circle. In order to treat an allergy, our allergist relies on the results of allergy testing. In turn, the type of allergy testing depends on the allergy. And so after taking a patient's medical history and listening to their description of their symptoms, our MD at AllergyTesting Stamford CT will prescribe one or more of a variety of allergy tests to find out the type of substance that is causing the reaction. Allergy tests fall into three categories:

 

• skin tests

• blood tests

• provocative tests.

Skin tests are the easiest and quickest. In a skin test, the doctor or a technician will apply possible triggers to the skin of the lower arm or back and observe the reactions. Skin tests, in turn, fall into several categories: skin prick tests, patch tests, intradermal, and skin scrape or scratch tests.

If the results of a skin test are inconclusive, our allergy doctor may also prescribe blood tests. These consist of taking blood from the vein in order to send the sample to a laboratory where the number and types of allergens present will be measured.

Provocation tests are ordered when the person has a mild reaction to the skin test, or none at all. As the name suggests, the suspected allergen will be applied to the area where symptoms manifest in an effort to provoke them. For example, if the doctor suspects hay fever, the provocation test will consist of applying the suspected type of pollen directly to the mucous lining of the nose.

Only when she has results she deems the most conclusive will our allergist start treatment. As far as asthma testing goes, there are fewer varieties of tests, but the one allergists most commonly prescribe is a breathing test with two purposes. one being to determine how much air a patient can exhale and how quickly. And the other purpose is to measure the level of nitric oxide in the breath which is an indicator of inflammation.

If you suspect you have asthma or allergies, Allergy Testing Stamford CT has over seventy years of expertise in diagnosing and treating asthma and allergies. That's why it's part of our name.