– Very interesting, I didn’t know that. Okay, next up, let’s talk about the importance Okay, next up, let’s talk about the importance of understanding why we have to get tested when seeking medical treatment. It’s a great way to gain information about our health and sometimes it’s easier when you know what to expect. So today, Jackie’s getting the scoop on allergy testing. (upbeat music) – Hey guys, it’s Jackie, and I’m here today with Dr Schafer, and we are talking about allergy tests. So, doctor, I think a good place to start is by talking about who actually is typically getting allergy tests, because this isn’t something that everybody goes through. – So we will typically do food allergy testing in someone who has had a reaction to a food or a meal and we’re trying to pinpoint the food. For environmental allergies, we will look for those if patients have asthma symptoms, also if they have nasal-type symptoms that are difficult to control or recurrent sinus infections is another common area.
Venom or bee sting allergy, we do that if somebody has had a sting and suffered a reaction. There’s really no reason to do allergy testing without some history or some symptoms suggesting an allergy. – For most adults, this is gonna involve some pricking or scratching on their arm. How is that process different for children? – The differences come in what we test for so how many environmental allergies we test for for example in younger children, we will often tailor so we’re not doing quite as many skin tests. And also, the placement of the tests may be different. We may use the back for testing instead of the arms and some of it has to do with younger children it’s hard to keep their arms still for the full 15 minutes until we can read the testing.
– And you’re gonna show me a little bit about how this process works? – I’d be happy to. (upbeat music) – So, I’m all ready for the test, and this is the part where I would imagine people start getting nervous. – So first, I’m just gonna clean off your arms with some alcohol. And then I will just remind people that we’re not breaking the skin and it’s not a shot. They’re really more like little sticks. So I explain, especially young children that it feels more like my finger nail kind of scratching the skin, or a hair brush. – How many are you typically doing and how long does that process take? – It depends what we’re testing for.
For an adult with, you know, pretty severe seasonal allergy symptoms that we may be thinking about starting on allergy shots you would probably do an environmental panel for this area. That includes 30 of those. For food allergies, we’d test for the foods that we’re concerned the patient may be allergic to. So sometimes that’s two control tests so a salt water control and what’s called a histamine control and that tells us the skin doesn’t overreact or under react with whatever foods we’re testing to.
– So I think the bottom line here is that having this information about what you might be allergic to can help you avoid those allergens and can also be empowering for your overall health. – Allergy testing is a safe process that we can use to identify food, environmental venom or drug allergies. – Thank you so much Dr. Schafer. And to learn more about how various medical procedures work head to our website, livinghealthytv.com. .
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