Skin allergy testing

  Skin allergy testing is a method for medical diagnosis of allergies. A microscopic amount of an allergen is introduced to a patient's skin by various means:

• by pricking the skin with a needle or pin containing a small amount of the allergen ('Prick Testing' or 'Scratch Testing')
• by applying a patch to the skin, where the patch contains the allergen.

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If an immuno-response is seen in the form of a rash, hives, urticaria or (worse) anaphylaxis it can be concluded that the patient has a hypersensitivity (or allergy) to that allergen. Further testing can be done to identify the particular allergen.

The "scratch test" as it's called, is still very commonly used as an allergen test. A similar test involving injecting the allergen is also used, but is not quite as common due to increased likelihood of infection and general ineffectiveness by comparison.

See also

• Allergies
• Hypersensitivity
• Dermatitis
• Anaphylaxis