Food Intolerance Test | Food Allergy Test

Food allergy testing

This test is also called as food hypersensitivity testing. Food allergy is a medical condition in which body is allergic to certain foods. Whenever you eat those foods, body develops various grades of immune response to them. This response can vary from mild reaction to severe life-threatening anaphylactic shock.

Food allergy is usually present in children. It can be lifelong as well. The various symptoms of food allergy can be- skin rashes (urticaria or hives), difficulty in breathing, swelling of the face, around the eyes, lips, tongue, and roof of the mouth, vomiting, abdominal pain, loose motions, dizziness, fainting etc.

The foods which are mostly responsible for food allergy are shellfish, fish, peanuts, eggs, tree nuts like walnuts, wheat, and soy. The only way to avoid an allergic reaction is to avoid the foods that cause signs and symptoms.

Why is food allergy testing prescribed?

Your health care provider may ask you to undergo food allergy test in certain conditions:

• If there is positive family history of food allergy
• If you have other food allergy
• Asthma
• If you have other forms of allergy like eczema or hay fever

What are the components of food allergy test?

The food allergy test is conducted by an allergist. He will first ask all your symptoms and physical examination. Then he will do certain tests like

• skin prick test-In this test, a small amount of the suspected food is placed on the skin of your forearm or back. Then a small prick is made on the skin at that site. If there is redness and itching at that site it means you have food allergy.
• oral challenge test-in which small amount of food is given by mouth in form of capsule. If you develop allergic symptoms, it means you have allergy.
• elimination diet-here all suspected allergic foods are eliminated from the diet and then gradually introduced back into your diet one at a time. To find out which food causes allergic reaction.
• IgE blood test-A blood test can measure your immune system's response to food by measuring the allergy-related antibody known as immunoglobulin E (IgE).

Procedure and prerequisites

The sample for IgE test is taken from blood by inserting a small needle into the vein of your arm. A small amount of blood is then collected in test tube or vial. You may feel a little pain due to needle prick. You can resume your daily activities immediately