What is the best method of testing for allergies?
The best first step in the diagnosis of allergies is a thorough health history and physical examination. If you have allergy symptoms that occur in association with exposure to certain things, that is highly significant. Allergy diagnostic tests, such as skin tests or blood tests, provide similar information and merely confirm what your health history tells the doctor. If your doctor were to rely exclusively on the results of skin or blood tests (without history and physical examination), you could be diagnosed as having an allergic problem that you don’t necessarily have. Skin tests, in most situations, are preferable because (1) the results are available immediately, (2) they are less expensive and (3) they are more sensitive to subtle allergies. A blood test is appropriate in certain situations, particularly when you (1) cannot suspend antihistamine therapy which can inhibit skin tests, (2) have widespread skin disease making skin testing difficult, (3) are so sensitive to the aller
