Q: How do the skin tests work? What can I expect? Will they hurt?
A: The skin tests do not hurt. But, they certainly can itch. We always have anti-itching cream available for after the tests are read by the doctor. 

Here is how the tests work: 
We have a sample of many kinds of allergens in our clinic, in a liquid form. We place a little dot of some of these allergens on the skin, and wait to see if you are allergic to them by looking for any swelling, redness, or itching from each spot. 


Q: Why do I need to stop my medication for seven days before a skin test? 
A: Antihistamines are a kind of medicine that stop your body from having allergic reactions. If you have these medicines in your system, our skin test may not show any results at all--because the medicine is stopping your body from reacting to the things you are allergic to. 


Q: Can you do skin tests on children? 
A: Yes. 


Q: Why do you ask patients to wait in the office after their allergy shots? 
A: There is a small change that you could have a bad reaction to the allergy shots, especially after increasing your dose. We want to make sure that you will be alright, and are prepared to treat you if you do have a bad reaction. 


Q: Do you test for metal allergies? 
A: Unfortunately, we do not test for metal allergies at this time.