Skin/Scratch Testing

Skin test­ing is the most pop­u­lar aller­gy test that helps diag­nose food, envi­ron­men­tal and med­ica­tion aller­gies. Dur­ing a skin test, an aller­gist will place a tiny amount of an aller­gen on the sur­face of your skin by ​“prick­ing” the des­ig­nat­ed spot on your arm or back. In approx­i­mate­ly 15 min­utes, a red bump will appear in that spot if you are pos­i­tive for hav­ing an aller­gy. Any red bumps that appear dur­ing the skin test will dis­ap­pear after about 30 minutes.

Sources:

Amer­i­can Col­lege of Aller­gy, Asth­ma, and Immunol­o­gy (acaai​.org)

The Amer­i­can Acad­e­my of Aller­gy, Asth­ma & Immunol­o­gy | AAAAI