NY Allergist Dr. Lubitz discusses Allergy Skin Tests

If you visit an allergy doctor, he or she is likely to run allergy tests on you to determine which types of allergies you have. The most common allergy test is a skin-prick test, during which the allergist uses a series of needle pricks or scratches and a possible allergen on your skin.

The skin prick test procedure amounts to placing a drop of  solution containing a suspected allergen on the skin followed by needle pricks or scratches which permits the solution to penetrate the skin. A positive reaction would consist of  development of "wheals"  red raised, itchy spots which infers the patient is allergic to the allergen contained in the applied solution.The skin prick test is just one testing option.  Other skin testing option include the interdermal test and a skin patch test.As the name implies, the interdermal test procedure is to inject the patient with a solution containing a suspected allergen.  This test may be used when the allergen is still suspected to be causing symptoms, but the skin prick test was inconclusive.The Skin Patch test is used to determine the allergic source of contact dermatitis.  The patient simply wears a patch which contains the allergen solution for a period of time, normally 24-72 hours.For more on skin tests and Contact Dermatitis :