To find out if you suffer from allergies or not. We recommend that you immediately see a nearest doctor in your place. To determine whether you suffer from allergies or not, the doctor will ask a series of questions about various symptoms that you have. Family health history, medical problems ever had, the emotional issues, lifestyle, work habits, including eating and recreation habits.
You must realize if information is very important in diagnosing allergies. You can have allergies because you have the family who has suffered an allergy before. Although the type of allergy is not the same, this could happen.
Skin test
To diagnose allergies, the most commonly used is the skin test and can be done in several ways. Usually the allergen suspected as the cause of allergy is applied to the forearm, upper arm or back. Allergens can also be injected under the skin. In this way, the results can be seen 15 minutes later. If the tested part is swollen and red, then the test is considered positive.
Skin test can not be fully guaranteed. Positive test result but in the daily life, the body does not react to these allergens. The results of a positive skin test to food allergens tend to be less accurate, if a test result is negative, it does not mean that you are not allergic to the food.
Skin test is very useful for respiratory allergies, insect sting allergies, latex allergies and allergic to penicillin.
Specific IgE Antibody Test
Antibody test specificly for immunoglobulin E, which was formerly known as radioallergosorbent test (RAST),is useful blood test to diagnose sensitivity to the inhalated alerfen like pollen or dust. These tests measure the antibodies inside. Unlike the skin test, this test is more comfortable and does not risk because all examinations to blood samples carried out in test tubes.
The weakness of this test is not sensitive to skin allergens. Analysis of blood samples should also be performed in special laboratories that the process takes a day or more, besides it also costs more expensive than skin tests.
Hopefully this article will help you understand how to diagnose allergy to yourself.
