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Allergy testing - Risks

Alternative Names

Patch tests - allergy; Scratch tests - allergy; Skin tests - allergy; RAST test

What the risks are:

Risks related to skin and food allergy tests may include:

Special considerations:

The accuracy of allergy testing varies quite a bit. Even the same test performed at different times on a person may give different results. A person may react to a substance during testing, but never react during normal exposure. A person may also have a negative allergy test and yet still be allergic to the substance.

  • Reviewed last on: 7/17/2007
  • Donald Accetta, MD, MPH, President, Allergy & Asthma Care, PC, Taunton, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

References

Adkinson NF Jr. Middleton’s Allergy: Principles and Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby; 2003.

Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2007.