Skin prick test

The skin prick test is a skin test used to detect imme­dia­te-type all­er­gies. Drops of stan­dar­di­sed all­er­gen solu­ti­ons are pla­ced on the skin, and the skin beneath is light­ly pri­cked with a fine lan­cet. It is one of the stan­dard exami­na­ti­ons in allergology.

Appli­ca­ti­on

It main­ly tests for pol­len, house dust mites, ani­mal dan­der, moulds and some foods, for exam­p­le when hay fever or all­er­gic asth­ma is suspec­ted. The test is usual­ly done on the inner fore­arm. After about 15 to 20 minu­tes, any whe­als and red­ness are read and com­pared with con­trol solutions.

Good to know

Anti­hist­ami­nes and cer­tain other medi­ci­nes must be stop­ped before­hand, as they can distort the result. A posi­ti­ve reac­tion shows sen­si­ti­sa­ti­on but not neces­s­a­ri­ly an aller­gy that cau­ses sym­ptoms, so it is inter­pre­ted tog­e­ther with the medi­cal histo­ry and blood tests whe­re nee­ded. For cont­act all­er­gies such as all­er­gic cont­act der­ma­ti­tis, patch test­ing is the appro­pria­te method. Seve­re reac­tions are rare.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Aller­gy test