![]() ![]() Observe skin reactions – if a reaction occurs it should do so within 20–30 minutes.Excess allergen solution is dabbed off with a tissue.A new lancet must be used for each allergen tested. A small prick through the drop is made to the skin using a sterile prick lancet.A drop of allergen solution is placed beside each mark.The forearm is coded with a skin marker pen corresponding to the number of allergens being tested.Clean arm with soap and water or alcohol.The following is a brief overview of how the test is performed. Any number of allergens can be tested, as few as 3 or 4 or up to about 25 allergens. Skin prick tests are usually performed on the inner forearm. Overall, skin prick tests can provide confirmatory evidence for a diagnosis made on the patient's history and clinical condition. Skin prick testing is generally unhelpful in the investigation of atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria and angioedema, food intolerances, dermatitis herpetiformis, and nonspecific rashes. It is also useful in patients with bee and wasp stings, and acute urticaria, especially if immunotherapy is being considered. The results from skin prick tests can be used to guide the management of patients with asthma and hay fever, for example, to paln desensitisation to a certain allergen, removal of a family pet, removal of carpets, and avoidance of certain foods. It usually manifests clinically as one or more of the characteristic disorders of asthma, eczema, or hay fever ( rhinitis). ![]() Atopy is characterised by an overactive immune response to environmental factors and has a strong genetic component. Skin prick testing is most often used to demonstrate atopy. It is simple, carries low risk and is inexpensive to perform. Skin prick testing with a battery of routine allergens is an important basic procedure in diagnosing allergic diseases. Whilst patch testing is a useful diagnostic test for patients with allergic contact dermatitis, skin prick testing is useful in the diagnosis of other allergies such as aeroallergens causing hay fever, food allergy, latex allergy, drug allergy, and bee and wasp venom allergy. Skin prick testing is an allergy test used to identify allergens responsible for triggering symptoms in allergic diseases. ![]()
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