Allergy Screen (Inhalants and Foods) Blood Test

This allergy screen provides a comprehensive analysis of the common inhaled substances and foods that can cause IgE-mediated allergies. Four mixes of allergens are tested for (grasses, dusts, moulds and trees), alongside many of the common single allergens such as cat dander, dog dander, cow's milk, egg yolk and egg white. 

An ideal test to be used as an initial investigation screen for people with signs of IgE mediated allergy such as hives, redness of the skin, vomiting and lip or facial swelling which develops quickly after being exposed to an allergen. A positive reaction to one of the mixes tested for allows you to narrow down which substances are likely to be causing your allergy, but does not allow the single allergen to be identified. So you may need to arrange a further test for the single allergens in one of the mixes.

The allergens tested are:

• Grass mix - cocksfoot, meadow fescue, meadow, rye, timothy

• Dust mix - Blatella germanica, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, house dust (Hollister Stier labs)

• Mould mix - A. alternata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Cladosporum herbarum, Helminthosporium halodes, Penicillium notatum

• Tree mix - box elder, common silver birch, hazel, oak, london plane, maple, sycamore

• Single allergens - beef, bermuda grass, cat dander, clam, cow's milk, crab, dog dander, egg white, egg yolk, fish (cod), hazel nut, horse dander, latex, nettle, peanut, shrimp/prawn, soya bean, wheat

This test also checks levels of total immunoglobulin E, which are often increased in people with an IgE mediated allergy.