A food allergy occurs when your immune system overreacts to a food particle. These responses can range from mild to severe, even life-threatening. When you schedule an appointment with the Langford Allergy team, your allergist will be able to diagnose your food allergy. Discover the details:
Food Allergy Diagnosis
Before completing any type of test, your allergist will ask you important questions to learn how the allergy is affecting you. For example, he will need to know what your symptoms are, if you have any family members with allergies, and other related topics. There are several ways your allergist can determine what food is causing your allergic reaction. The most common tests include a skin test, blood test, and oral food challenge.
Skin Test
A skin test involves placing the suspected allergen on your forearm or back. A small scratch will be made to allow the allergen beneath your skin. If this allergen is indeed the culprit of your food allergy symptoms, the affected area will likely become red and have raised bumps.
Blood Test
There are antibodies in your blood known as immunoglobulin E (IgE). These antibodies are used by the immune system to neutralize any threat such as allergens, bacteria, viruses, and more. By taking a blood sample, your allergist can determine what foods are causing an increase of IgE, thus identifying the culprit.
Oral Food Challenge
An oral food challenge involves eating small amounts of a suspected allergen and seeing if there is a negative response. This test is very important to be completed in a medical professional’s office. That way, if an allergic reaction occurs, you are exactly where you need to be for appropriate treatment.
Our Langford Allergy team has helped hundreds of people identify and treat their food allergy. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a food allergy consultation, call us: 478-787-4728.