Allergy Test

An allergy is a hypersensitive adverse reaction of the body’s immune system to mostly harmless things in the environment such as food, plants, animals and medication. Allergies affect many people. Common allergies include hay fever, food allergies and reactions to insect bites. They can range from mild irritating symptoms such as itchiness to life-threatening and even deadly reactions.

Mobile Drug and DNA is pleased to be offering a new advanced clinical allergy testing product to help detect allergies.

WHAT IS THE CLINICAL ALLERGY TEST?

Our clinical allergy test is an easy, quick and safe way to test yourself for allergies that you may have without putting you at risk by directly exposing you to any allergens. It involves a simple blood test. Your blood will then be analysed to detect levels of allergy antibodies produced when mixed with different allergens. We test against a variety of allergens including inhalants, foodstuffs, insect venom, drugs and materials (full list available on request).

The results of the clinical allergy test are available within approximately 10-15 working days, so you can find out exactly what might trouble your immune system in less than three weeks.

HOW DOES THE BLOOD TEST FOR ALLERGIES WORK?

The clinical allergy test works as it’s what is known as an IgE (sIgE) blood test. This measures the amount of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in the blood sample. Immunoglobulin E is an antibody that our immune system produces in response to allergens, bacteria or any other threat that is identified. As a defence mechanism, the body releases chemicals such as histamines to deal with the threat.

Our allergy testing will look for increased levels of IgE in your blood samples that are produced when mixed with different allergens. Increased levels indicate an allergy and different variants of IgE are caused by different allergens. This means that it’s possible to distinguish, for example, between the IgE variant produced by a cat hair allergy and an IgE variant produced by a dog hair allergy.

IS THE TEST SAFE?

Our clinical allergy test is 100% safe, it involves nothing more than a simple blood draw. Allergens never come in contact with you directly unlike other allergy testing methods such as:

• Skin prick tests, where a tiny amount of the allergen is introduced via a prick to the skin. Although these are very safe, they do carry a very small risk of serious extreme reactions (especially in children) in rare instances. There is also the risk of results being affected if antihistamines have been taken prior to testing.
  
• Patch tests, which are used to test for eczema or dermatitis. These use the same principle as skin prick tests, exposing the body to allergens and awaiting a reaction. Although these are generally safe, they expose the individual to more pain and discomfort than blood tests.

• Elimination diet, used to identify a food allergy. This is where foods are avoided for set periods and then reintroduced to the diet to monitor change. This is a lengthy process and again exposes individuals to substances that might cause an allergic reaction.

WILL THE RESULTS OF CLINICAL ALLERGY TESTING BE CONSISTENT?

If the allergy is genuine, then results of the clinical allergy test will be consistent. If someone is persistently exposed to a substance they are allergic to, levels of IgE will remain high and this is what we are looking for.

IS A SPECIALIST NEEDED?

We require that this test is ordered by your specialist and the results are best interpreted by a specialist.

This test will likely be recommended if you have persistent symptoms that could be indicative of an allergic response. Your specialist will want to see indicators that your symptoms are from an allergy.

They will likely:

• Ask you detailed questions about the symptoms
• Perform a physical examination and
• May ask you to keep a detailed diary of your symptoms and possible triggers

Mobile Drug and DNA charges a small fee for mobile blood collection however if you are not in our collection area it is recommended you get your blood taken by a qualified nurse or phlebotomist.