Pricktest: Procedure of the test and cost point
What is the prick test?
A prick test is an allergy test that will help you quickly and easily find out if someone is sensitive to a particular allergen. The prick test is suitable for identifying allergies of type I, the so-called immediate type. These include around 90 percent of all those affected. The word "prick" comes from English and means something like "stitch" or "sting", which refers to the performance of the test.
When should I have a prick test done?
If there is a suspicion of an allergy, the allergy test is the first drug of choice. The standard test includes between 15 and 20 different allergens, These include allergens of pollen allergy (eg hay fever), house dust allergy, animal allergens such as cat allergy or mold spores. If a more unusual allergy is suspected, these can be detected by allergy tests.
How does the prick test work?
A large The advantage of the prick test is that it can be done on an outpatient basis and you do not have to wait until you have the results of a laboratory examination. Any doctor who has experience with allergy treatments can perform it.
Allergic test solutions are dripped onto the skin of the patient (usually on the inside of the forearm). The doctor then uses a prick lancet or needle to scratch the skin. This is how the solutions get into the body. If there is a sensitization or an allergy, the so-called mast cells of the immune system respond to it by allergy symptoms such as:
- redness
- wheals
- itching
There are cases known where the skin test has led to a life-threatening allergic shock ("anaphylaxis"). This is very rare.
In addition, a so-called negative control and a positive control are performed. In the positive control is histamine included? the messenger should always cause a skin reaction such. As a wheal (there is also a Histamin intolerance? Here you will learn more about it!). In the negative control is saline, which should cause no reaction.
After about 15 to 20 minutes, the prick test can be evaluated. Based on the symptoms, the doctor can easily estimate if there is an allergy. Also, the severity of the allergic reaction can determine how severe the allergy is.
What costs causes the prick test?
The costs are calculated according to the number of test solutions used. Since it is a standard method for allergy detection, the costs are covered by the health insurance companies.
What other skin tests are there?
In addition to the prick test, there is also an intracutaneous test, which is considered more sensitive than the prick test for certain allergens, but is also somewhat more elaborate. On the other hand there is still the epicutaneous test? This is a provocation test used to detect late allergies. Late allergies include the allergic reactions, which occur only after a considerable delay after contact with an allergen.
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