Skin Testing

Skin testing is the most reliable form of allergy testing. Because histamine-containing cells are located in high numbers just under the skin, results of skin testing have proven to be more accurate than blood testing in diagnosing allergies. Because we are looking for histamine in the skin, we ask you to stop all antihistamine-type medications for a few days prior to your visit. You will find a list of these medications here.

Skin testing is ideal for diagnosing allergies to airborne allergens that can lead to allergic rhinitis and asthma, and can be helpful in diagnosing most types of food allergy. Skin testing is also commonly used to diagnose insect allergy and occasionally drug allergy.

The allergen extracts used to diagnose respiratory allergens include dust mite, animal dander, molds, cockroach and pollen (trees, grasses, and weeds). The battery of food extracts we use include the common (milk, egg, wheat, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish) and not so common causes of food-related allergic conditions. In the case of insects, we mostly use venom extracts.

The Skin Test Procedure

The surface of your skin is injected or "scratched" with tiny amounts of a number of specific allergens. If the results are positive, a small reaction on the skin occurs, usually within 20 minutes. This reaction usually causes some itchiness and is very similar to a mosquito bite. This indicates that you are very allergic to that specific trigger. If no bump appears, we may do a follow up test to that specific allergen with another small injection of extract. Depending on the results of your skin test, your allergist will determine the best way to treat your allergy symptoms.