Allergy Testing For Food And Inhaled Allergens

Fast, Simple Testing For Up To 200 Common Allergies

If you suspect that you have an allergy, an IgE allergy test can quickly identify precisely what is triggering your allergic reaction and causing your symptoms.

What Is An Allergy?

An allergy is an over-reaction of the immune system, your body's natural defence system. True allergy occurs when your body responds as though it's under attack, releasing IgE antibodies to 'fight off' the allergen by mistake, even though the allergen is normally harmless. These are the antibodies that are measured in an IgE allergy test.

Allergic reactions are often triggered by food like peanuts, shellfish and milk, and inhaled allergens such as dust, pollen and pet dander.

Allergy symptoms typically appear within minutes to two hours after you have been exposed to the allergen. This is one of the differences between fast-onset allergies and food intolerances, which tend to have a delayed onset.

What Is An IgE Allergy Test?

An IgE allergy test is a type of blood test used to diagnose allergic reactions. The test exposes a sample of your blood to a range of suspected allergens and measures the amount of antibodies which may be triggering your allergic reaction.

The blood test measures the actual quantity of IgE antibodies you have for each specific allergen.

One allergy blood test can check for dozens of different allergens at one time.

How Is An Allergy Test Performed?

1. You give a small blood sample.
2. We analyse the blood sample by subjecting it to tests for a range of suspected allergens.
3. The results indicate how sensitive you are to each allergen on a 0 (negative) to 6 (extremely high sensitivity) scale.

What Allergens Can You Be Tested For?

Most of our clients are tested for one of four standard testing panels. This allow you to test for up to 20 allergens in one simple test.

The table below shows our four standard panels. (For information on testing for individual allergens, please contact us.)

Panel 1 is a mixture of inhaled and food allergens.

Panel 2 includes the most important inhaled allergens.

Panel 3 contains only food allergens, which are characterized as important key allergens.

Panel 4 contains a selection of 20 inhaled and food allergens, with special consideration of children.

Why is IgE Allergy Testing the Best Option for Children?

The ImuPro IgE allergy test offers the possibility to get results for 20 or more allergens with only one blood sample. Most single allergen tests need a much larger sample volume to check for 20 allergens. Children are far more tolerant of one needle for a blood test than they are of multiple needle sticks for single allergen tests and skin testing.

Why is The ImuPro Allergy Test the Best Way to Identify Your Allergy?

Advantages of ImuPro's IgE allergy test include:

• Allows you to avoid the discomfort associated with skin testing.
• Unlike skin tests, there is no risk of a serious allergic reaction because your body is not directly exposed to the allergen.
• Medications such as antihistamines will not interfere with or skew your test results.
• Can be performed on patients with severe skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.
• Negative results can prevent unnecessary trials of allergy medications, direct further diagnostic efforts and spare you the inconvenience of avoidance that would be of no benefit to you.

If you have any questions about IgE allergy testing or to enquire about taking the ImuPro IgE allergy test, please contact us online or call us on 1300 481 151.

See All Test Options & Prices