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Allergy Testing

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Allergy Testing

When you come to our natural medicine clinic near Milwaukee with symptoms of allergies, we begin by evaluating your personal and family history, as well as the environment in which you live and work. After we discuss your personal history and perform a physical examination, we may suggest allergy testing to help us make a thorough and accurate diagnosis.

How intradermal allergy testing is performed

Our expert health professionals perform a method of skin testing known as intradermal testing because it is more sensitive than the skin prick test, the most commonly performed type of allergy testing.

Allergy testing identifies the allergens that cause your body to produce the IgE antibody, which causes your cells to produce the histamines and other chemicals that lead to allergy symptoms.

During intradermal allergy testing, we inject allergens immediately below the skin’s top surface with a very fine-gauge needle. This usually only takes about five to 10 minutes, and most people find that it is relatively painless. These injections are usually done on an adult’s forearm, and on a child’s back or forearm.

What happens after you receive your results?

Once the injections for your allergy testing are finished, we wait about 15 to 20 minutes to see if your body reacts to any of the allergens. It is important to see a medical professional for allergy testing in case of a severe reaction.

When you do react, you will see a wheal, which is a raised red bump that looks like a mosquito bite. It may also be itchy.

Our integrative medicine health professionals check the injection sites and record which allergens, if any, caused a reaction. We use these results to create an individualized treatment plan for you that may include medications or allergy drops.

Sometimes patients experience delayed reactions for up to 48 hours after the test. You should report redness, swelling or itching to our staff if this occurs after you leave our natural medicine clinic near Milwaukee.

How to prepare for testing

If you decide to pursue allergy testing, our staff will provide you with instructions before the test. We will advise you when to stop taking antihistamines prior to the test, usually three to seven days before testing, as well as when to stop using other allergy or asthma medications you may be using.

Allergy testing is part of the integrative medicine program we offer at our natural medicine clinic near Milwaukee. Contact us for more information about our comprehensive, caring approach to allergies.

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