ALLERGY TESTING

Skin prick test is used for accurate diagnosis of allergy. The patient needs to be abstinence form antihistamine tablets such as zyrtec, telfast and claratyne for at least 3 days. Drops of different airborne and food allergens will be applied to the forearms. Each drop will then be lightly pricked by a lancet. The patient then wait for 15 to 20 minutes and the reaction on the skin will be assessed. A positive reaction is seen as a red and itchy swelling. The skin reaction looks very similar to a mosquito bite. The test result will then be correlated to patient’s clinical history. The test may cause minor discomfort but not pain. It is very well tolerated by patients.