Whether you’ve been living in North Texas for a short time or your entire life, you’ve probably noticed that the allergens here can be more severe than in other places across the country. Factors like geographical location and climate change can affect North Texas’s pollen production but at the end of the day, the best way to help calm your allergies is to understand what exactly you are allergic to.

Below we cover everything you need to know about allergy testing so you can decide if it is right for you.

Allergy Testing:

My Labs Direct offers ImmunoCAP™ Specific IgE testing a simple blood test that aids in the diagnosis of allergic disease. Anyone presenting with allergy-like symptoms is a candidate for specific IgE blood testing. NIH guidelines recommend allergy testing for at least those patients on daily medication for their asthma symptoms.

How does Allergen Testing work?

Allergen Component Testing

ImmunoCAP Specific IgE Allergen Component tests measure specific IgE antibodies to individual molecular allergens in serum or plasma. Different component groups often elicit different reactions, so testing for them can help indicate true allergy vs. cross-reactivity, a patient’s risk of systemic vs. localized reaction, and more.

Whole Allergen Testing

ImmunoCAP Specific IgE Whole Allergen tests measure IgE antibodies to a specific allergen in human serum or plasma and allow quantitative measurements of a wide range of individual allergens and allergen components. More than 550 whole allergens and mixes, including environmental and food triggers, are available for testing.

Who is this test for?

Anyone presenting with nasal or other allergy-like symptoms is eligible for specific IgE testing. However, ImmunoCAP Specific IgE Blood Test should be strongly considered for patients with:

· Recurrent or chronic URD, i.e., rhinitis, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis

· Unseasonable allergy-like symptoms

· Seasonal or perennial allergy-like symptoms

· Recurrent otitis media

· Exogenous asthma and other conditions in which IgE mediation is suspected

What are the benefits of ImmunoCap Specific IgE Testing?

ImmunoCAP specific IgE blood test can be performed with few limitations. Unlike traditional skin-prick testing (SPT), an ImmunoCAP blood test:

· Poses no risk for anaphylaxis.

· Is not subject to interference by exogenous biotin supplementation.

· ImmunoCAP profiles can improve the ability to assess risk for systemic allergic reactions, leading to more targeted treatment and/or guidance for specialist referrals.

· Full color report clearly identifies patient’s sensitization to each specific allergen.