Allergy Testing

Allergy Testing

Allergies

What is an allergy?

Allergies are adverse reactions of one’s immune system to a foreign substance.

Common allergies include:

Eczema
    • Eczema is not limited to adults. Newborn babies who are three months old can also suffer from eczema.
    • Eczema can be resolved prior to one year old, and it will be easier to control when the baby grows up. After five or six years old, the skin structure has been damaged and changed, and nerve protrusion may have already been developed. Treatments will become more difficult.
    • The treatment of eczema must be multifaceted. Patients should avoid contact with irritants and predisposing factors, and avoid intake of food additives. Strengthening skin moisturizing can help improve the condition. Parents and patients should have a correct understanding of eczema and follow doctors’ instructions on medication. Most of the symptoms can be controlled if there is a continual treatment.
Hives / Urticaria
    • This is usually a sudden raised, warm and itchy rash that appears on the skin within a few minutes
Allergic Rhinitis
    • After two years old or later, children are more likely to develop Allergic Rhinitis. In Hong Kong, 20% of school children suffer from this problem.
    • Symptoms of Allergic Rhinitis are similar to those of colds, including runny nose and sneezing, but the former lasts longer and is caused by allergens.
    • Ambient air allergens – suspended particulate. Allergens that can trigger Allergic Rhinitis also include indoor dust, dust mites or pollen, etc. Sometimes even weather changes can trigger allergies.
Treating Allergic Rhinitis
    • Non-drug treatment is to avoid contact with allergens as much as possible, while drug treatment is mainly to take antihistamines. Steroid nasal spray can also improve nasal congestion. Some patients have improved after using it for one to two weeks.
Asthma
    • When a child develops symptoms of asthma, he/she should be taken to a doctor immediately for diagnosis and treatment to find out the cause – whether it is caused by viral or bacterial infection or allergens, and then perform different levels of treatment.
Cough
  • Cough is actually a symptom. Many reasons cause children to cough. Common reasons include infection, such as cold, flu, pneumonia, tracheitis, but also allergies such as asthma.
  • When the patient’s airway is irritated, the bronchi are narrowed, and the airway is blocked, developing symptoms such as wheezing with a “hehe” sound, coughing and phlegm. Cough can be caused by asthma, but chronic cough will not develop into asthma. Clinically, it is not possible to diagnose whether a patient has an asthma attack based on cough alone.

Allergies can be classified as Acute and Chronic:

    • Acute allergies are caused by IgE antibodies, resulting in acute symptoms such as wheezing, Urticaria, or dyspnea. Generally, the cause of acute allergy can be identified through IgE detection, so that allergens can be avoided to improve allergic conditions.
    • Chronic allergies are caused by IgG antibodies, mostly caused by food. The attack is slow but the symptoms are complex, so are more likely to be ignored or misjudged.

Priority testing groups:

    1. Patients with allergies.
    2. People with allergic constitutions.
    3. One or both of the parents are with allergic constitutions.
    4. Pregnancy and breast-feeding period: The 9 months from pregnancy to birth is the golden period to reduce the chance of giving birth to a baby with allergies; during the breast-feeding period, if the mother does not eat properly, the baby may also develop allergies.
    5. School age children: Children’s immune systems are not yet fully developed, and they are easily affected by allergens. Allergy testing can be used to identify the cause of allergies and avoid them.
    6. Those who attach importance to personal health.
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