What to Expect
Initial testing to determine what you are allergic to usually takes about an hour. Testing is sometimes done from a blood sample, but skin testing is the preferred method in most cases.

After discussing your symptoms and history, and examining your ears, nose, and throat, the physician will recommend allergy testing if he concludes that allergies may be causing some of your symptoms.

Testing is usually performed on the back. After cleansing the area with alcohol, a small plastic object is used to barely scratch the surface layer of skin. A drop of the item being tested will be applied at the same time.

This test will be repeated for each item being tested, one after another. Usually it takes only a minute or two to apply all the tests. After approximately 20 minutes, the test will be read. During this time you may experience itching, and small wheals (bumps) may develop to items that you are allergic to.

If only a few allergies are indicated, we safely proceed to a stronger test on your upper arms to items that did not respond to the initial testing.

This second phase involves injecting a tiny amount of the item being tested just under the skin. Usually we use the upper arms to do this testing. This also involves a 20-minute wait and may result in itching and small wheals to the items to which you are allergic.

If it is determined that allergy shots are needed, we may schedule additional testing on another day to determine the dose of each item individually as we prepare your injections.