SKIN PRICK ALLERGY TESTING

Allergy skin prick tests are widely used to confirm whether a substance is causing an allergic reaction. It checks for an immediate reaction to as many as 50 different substances in a single session. The skin is tested on the forearm or upper back. The person administering the test draws dots on your skin, followed by the application of a different allergen to each dot. A special needle called a lancet is used to prick the allergen into each mark. Within fifteen minutes a reaction will appear if the person is allergic, in the form of an itchy red bump that looks like a mosquito bite. The size of the bump is measured to determine the severity of the reaction.

P.S. Although a skin prick allergy test uses needles to penetrate the skin’s surface, the skin prick is painless and does not bleed.

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