|
Helping Doctors Help You with Food Allergy Testing |
 We all have a lot of faith in medical science. In most cases, that faith is well placed because the medical community can do amazing things in helping people identify and resolve serious health issues. When it comes to food allergies, there are things that can be done to help patients understand their food allergies and to learn what to do about them. But for these measures to be successful, it has to be a team effort between doctor and patient.
Food allergy testing has come a long way in the last couple of decades. If you have a food allergy, there is a good chance that testing can work to help find out what foods are causing the problem. But there are nuances to how food allergy testing is used that call upon the patient to help narrow down what is happening in his or her own body.
Food allergy testing is very good at flagging potential food allergens. In fact, it is almost too good. The problem is that there are such a huge variety of types of food allergies that if you go in to be tested for all of them, that is going to be a monumental undertaking. Further, because many food allergies are very similar, if you took every food allergy test there is, you would probably have a number of false positives. That is not efficient at getting to the specific type of food that is giving you or your loved one trouble.
There are two things you can do to help doctors help you in the success of food allergy testing. The first thing to do is to pay attention to what may be causing the problem. Food allergy symptoms almost always occur very quickly after the allergy sufferer eats, smells or touches the allergen. So if you or your child shows symptoms that are typical of a food allergy, take note of what the patient came into contact with in the last few meals. If the allergy has been going on for a while, it is probably a common food that will set off the allergic response every time.
Food allergies are consistent. If you have a reaction once, you will have it every time. So by doing some homework before you go see the doctor for food allergy testing, that can cut down on the number of tests that must be done to get to the heart of the problem. This bring us to the second most important thing that you can do to make food allergy testing work for you.
GO!
Don't hesitate to get tested for food allergies if you suspect that is the problem. If you are not sure, arrange a consultation. When you describe the allergic reactions, your doctor or allergist will be able to help you sort out if it is a food allergy or a food intolerance. And the doctor can help you with both problems.
By being prompt on getting to the doctor for testing as soon as you can and by paying attention to the allergy symptoms and what might be causing them, you give medical science the edge on determining what is setting off those symptoms and what they can do to help you cope with your food allergy.
|