Allergy Testing

I have found that I am allergic to fragrent detergents, dryer sheets, perfumes and I am allergic to mold (great one for living in the NW).
I need to have allergy testing yet I have been told I need to stop all of my medication I take for depression, bipolar. Is there any testing out there that is available without stopping your medications? Stopping my medication is not an option for me.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Diagnosis of allergy can be done by skin ***** tests and patch tests. In this a little amount of allergen is injected into the skin of the forearm by a doctor. The skin is closely watched for signs of a reaction, which include swelling and redness. Confirmatory diagnosis is by blood tests (RAST).

RAST allergy testing can be used to determine IgE reactions to foods and items that are airborne called “inhalants,” such as dust mites, pollen, animal dander and molds. An advantage of the RAST test is that it’s not affected by medications  that the patient may be taking.This is not the case in skin ***** or patch test. Variations of the RAST include FAST (fluoro-allergosorbent test) and MAST (multiple antigen simultaneous testing).They can also be used for allergy testing.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep us posted if you have any additional queries.

[FurballsMom]

I can relate to being allergic to the detergents and the dryer sheets and the perfumes.  They bother us because the stuff is full of neurotoxins, among other types of toxins.  So, we know we have to avoid these things.  Did you know that undiluted white vinegar will kill mold?  It is also a great household disinfectant, since it also kills bacteria.  And, it doesn't harm the environment or add toxins to pollute your home environment.  I wrote down the names of the tests that the other person posted, because I'm affected by so many allergens myself, and the skin tests just weren't all that helpful, since my skin didnt react to things that I know do affect me.  The allergist said that this is fairly common with the skin tests.  He knew a patient who had a negative reaction to milk, for example, but that patient could drink a glass of milk in front of him and still have a bad reaction to it.  I hope the vinegar suggestion helps with the mold.