Allergy Testing Alert

Allergy testing at OLCHC

Background Allergy is a growing problem in the western world. However, education of health care workers in the field of allergy has not kept up with clinical need. There has been much evidence that medical practitioners use diagnostic tests inaccurately, declaring food allergy where there is none. Removal of food from a patient’s diet, especially a child’s, has significant nutritional implicati...

Equine Allergy Testing

About 90% of the time, allergies manifest themselves in horses as hives. When they flare up, the vet will often prescribe antihistamines and/or corticosteroids to combat them. Sometimes antihistamines work to reduce the severity of the hives, yet many times cannot resolve them completely. Corticosteroids, on the other hand, work exquisitely to make hives disappear within hours. Cold-water thera...

Food Allergy and Intolerance Testing

Blood tests A specific IgE test, formally known as Radio Allergo Sorbent Test (RAST) is carried out by measuring the amount of IgE antibodies to a suspect food in the blood. The results are interpreted with a detailed clinical history to give a diagnosis of IgE mediated food allergy. This blood test can be organised by your GP or hospital clinician. There are commercial companies who offer a si...

Is Allergy Testing Cost Effective ?

Medical opinions are divided between the ‘testers’ who investigate before therapy is instituted and’ treaters’ who do not investigate to save costs. The ‘treaters’ have suggested that allergy testing is not always necessary in patients with allergy symptoms and prefer to treat with pharmacotherapy without identification of specific triggers. An example of this is a recent editorial in this jour...

Allergy Diagnostic Testing: An Updated Practice Parameter Practice Parameter Allergy Diagnostic Testing: An Updated Practice Parameter