Symptoms of Allergies and Allergy Tests

There are different symptoms of having an allergy. Some can be mild, some can be very annoying, but some can be dangerous and even life threatening. Below is a list of some common allergy symptoms:

1. Skin rashes - annoying and itchy and sometimes painful. Depends where they are on the body, they can make someone to look quite ugly.
2. Breathing problems - when allergy causes problems with breathing and lack of oxygen, it is very serious and requires attention.
3. Itchy notes, mouth, throat and skin - this is one of the most common and annoying allergy symptoms - an itch that can't be smoothed.
4. Conjunctivitis - burning and itchy eyes, is also a common allergy problem.
5. Coughing - another common allergy problem for many people - constant cough that sometimes is also painful.
6. Hives - hives can be painful and they can cause attention of others in public.
7. Headache - distracting headache that makes difficult to do anything constructive or relax.
8. Diarrhea - long time diarrhea can be also life threatening.

When you have an allergy the next step is to find out what causes it. You should talk to your doctor who will after checking the symptoms, know what to do. You should have a physical examination. The next step is usually tests which can find out precisely what causes the allergy. There are three kinds of tests:

1. The Skin Test - it is the least expensive and is very accurate. To do the skin test, a small amount of allergen is put on the skin and then the spot is pricked or scratched with a needle. A bit of allergen is also injected into the outer part of the skin. If there is an allergy to the tested product, after about 15-20 minutes after the test, there will be redness, swelling and itching on the skin

2. The Patch Test - it is done to find a contact dermatitis. A small amount of allergen is put into skin and then covered with a bandage. A doctor then checks the spot within forty-eight hours to see if a rash develops.

3. The Blood Test - this test is done when there are skin conditions or medications taken that might interfere with a skin test. In the blood test, the blood is taken to a laboratory and allergens are added to the blood sample. The amount of antibodies that are going to be made will be measured in this test.