Two main kinds: a skin test, where drops of allergen on lightly pricked skin are read in about 15 minutes, and a blood test measuring IgE antibodies to specific allergens.
A positive skin reaction looks like a small mosquito bite and fades within an hour or two. Blood testing fits when skin conditions, unstoppable medications, or severe-reaction risk rule out the skin version.
What to do
Common questions
What happens at an allergy test?
Allergy testing comes in two main forms, and neither is a big deal. The skin test is the workhorse: drops of suspected allergens go on your forearm or back, the skin under each drop is lightly pricked or scratched, and about 15 minutes later the provider reads the reactions - a small itchy bump, like a mosquito bite, marks a positive. The bumps fade within an hour or two. The blood test version measures IgE antibodies to specific allergens from a single draw; it is used when skin conditions, medications you cannot stop, or a severe-reaction risk make skin testing a poor fit, and results take days instead of minutes. Before a skin test you will be told to stop antihistamines for several days, since they blunt the reactions. The whole point is precision - replacing "I think I am allergic to something" with a named list you can avoid or treat, including with immunotherapy. Pymander, a free AI doctor available 24/7 by text, can help you decide which symptoms are worth testing.