The Ultimate Guide to Skin Prick Allergy Testing: Procedure, Results, and Cost in India

Itchy eyes, continuous sneezing and sniffles, common allergy symptoms, often associated with allergic rhinitis, seems like an everyday struggle. But now feel relieved, because a proper diagnosis can help you manage your allergies without any struggle.

Millions of people are suffering from allergic diseases and experiencing annoying symptoms such as itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose and skin problems. These symptoms can affect the everyday life of the sufferer. Allergy skin tests offers relief as it can identify allergens and the triggers allowing effective management and treatment helping you get rid of the discomfort.

In this blog, you will get to know everything about skin prick allergy testing, procedure involved, results and cost in India so stay tunned.

Skin prick allergy testing is a gold standard for diagnosing immediate allergies or IgE-mediated allergies, also referred to as a skin allergy test . IgE test is a safe and simple method to detect immediate allergic reactions to certain substances with quick results.

Skin prick test for allergy diagnosis involves applying a small amount of suspected allergens on the skin, and then the skin surface is gently pricked. The healthcare professionals checks the redness or a small raised bump on the testing site, using positive and negative controls that indicates sensitivity and help doctors recognize the triggers and plan effective treatment.

Here’s the step-by-step procedure involved in skin prick allergy testing, which is a common allergy test :

Medication Fasting: Your healthcare provider may ask you to stop taking certain medications before the skin test. You need to stop taking antihistamines before a skin test because these can interfere with the testing process, especially if you have untreated allergies .

Some medicines, such as antihistamines, can suppress allergic reactions, leading to false-negative results. Stopping these medications as suggested by your doctor ensures precise diagnosis and accurate results, avoiding unnecessary repetition of tests.

Test Site Selection: Typically, the skin test involves the forearm or back (for kids). The testing site on the forearm or back is properly cleaned with an antiseptic to ensure no respiratory allergens interfere with the results.

The skin at the test site is cleaned and marked for testing.

Necessary checks, including scratch tests, are applied to ensure accurate results. A histamine control (Positive) and a negative control (saline) are involved for comparison, which can also be used in an allergy blood test.

Small drops of the suspected allergens, such as foods, dust mites, pollen, and animal dander are placed on the test site skin.

As it is a skin prick test procedure, so a sterile needle is used to gently prick through each drop of the suspected allergen to help diagnose food allergies , allowing the allergen to get into the outer layer of skin.

Usually, the skin prick allergy test procedure results are available within 15-20 minutes.

The doctor investigates the testing site for redness and raised bumps or wheals. The reaction is examined and compared to the controls to understand the sensitivity, particularly in cases where difficulty breathing is a concern.

A positive reaction detects the allergens responsible for symptoms. The test results allow proper management, including avoidance or medication.

Skin prick allergy testing can detect various allergens that cause uncomfortable symptoms, including hay fever. Here’s the skin prick allergy test list of common allergens:

List of common allergens tested by skin prick test:

• Aeroallergens: For instance, pollen (grass, tree, weed), pet dander, mold spores, dust mites.

• Food Allergens: For instance, milk, eggs, peanuts, fish, soy, wheat.

• Insect Allergens: Bee or wasp venom and ant or other insect venoms.

• Other Allergens: For instance, latex and certain medications.

Refer to the below mentioned table below to get a clearer picture of common allergens tested by skin prick test:

Prick to prick test is a specifically designed technique for fresh foods or unusual allergens, like grass pollen allergy (not available in common extracts), testing. It is a variation of the typical skin prick test, specially performed to detect food allergies.

A fresh food (fruit or vegetable) is pricked using a sterile lancet to extract some amount of the food item. Then it is pricked in the patient’s skin to directly transfer the allergen. Patient's skin is examined for redness or wheal (a raised bump) for 15-20 minutes. Appearance of redness and wheal indicates a positive response.

• Detects uncommon food allergens.

• Offers more accurate results for certain food sensitivities.

Now we are aware of what is skin prick test is, how it is performed and what it detects to identify allergies, so lets understand the intradermal skin test results interpretation:

• Appearance of wheal (a raised bump) and flare (redness) within 15-20 minutes indicates a positive reaction.

• The diameter of the wheal is measured and compared to the histamine control (positive) to confirm the normal response of the skin.

• Small size wheal indicates mild sensitivity, medium size wheal suggests moderate sensitivity, and large wheal size indicates strong sensitivity. The larger the wheal compared to histamine control, stronger the allergic reaction.

• A positive skin test result suggests IgE-mediated allergy to the allergen.

• Healthcare professionals also consider medical history, symptoms of the patients along with the skin test results before confirming a allergy and plans treatments accordingly.

A positive skin test result may not always confirm an allergy, and a negative result may not completely rule out an allergy. Skin prick test results must be construed by a medical professional, considering the symptoms, medical history, and skin prick test results.

Here’s what you should know about reliability, false positive,s and false negatives in skin prick allergy testing while diagnosing allergies:

• Accuracy: Skin prick test is considered highly accurate for identifying IgE-mediated or Type I allergies. For the highest accuracy, results should be combined with a comprehensive medical history. Common allergens are pollen, foods, dust mites and pet dander.

• False Positives: If the test results show an allergic reaction but the person doesn’t have symptoms, called false positive result. It may be due to extremely sensitive skin, skin irritation because of test or cross-reactivity between similar allergens.

• False Negatives: If the individual have a clinical allergy but skin prick test shows no reaction, called false negatives. It may happen due to inappropriate test method, recent exposure to antihistamines or certain drugs or low levels of IgE for that specific allergen during the testing.

The skin prick allergy test is a common method for detecting immediate allergies. The cost and price of a skin prick test in India may vary depending on various factors.

Here’s the estimated skin prick test price in India as mentioned in the table below:

The overall skin prick test for allergy cost depends on various factors, as mentioned below:

• Number of allergens tested: The more allergens are tested, the higher will be the cost of the test. Basic panels usually test for 20-30 allergens, and the comprehensive panels tests for up to 100 allergens.

• Type of allergens tested: The skin prick allergy test cost in  India depends on the type of allergen tested. Standard panels usually include common environmental allergens such as pollen, pet dander and dust mites. For specialized allergens such as insect venoms and fresh foods, the price gets higher.

• Location and Diagnostic Center: Prices may also vary depending on the city you live in. In metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore the prices are higher as compared to small cities and towns. MyDiagnostics offers allergy testing at reasonable prices.

• Type of Test: Standard skin prick test is most cost-effective option while prick to prick test is slightly expensive as it involves specialized procedure. Comprehensive allergy panels are expensive as they test for large number if allergens.

• If you test results are positive, your doctor will tell you about after skin prick test care. Follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations carefully.

• Avoid the allergens as much as possible or minimize exposure to detected allergens such as pollens, dust mites and foods.

• Take prescribed medicines such as eye drops, nasal sprays or antihistamines as suggested by your healthcare professionals to effectively manage your symptoms.

• Certain allergies may require allergen immunotherapy that involves gradually increasing the allergen doses to desensitize your immune system with time.

• Track your symptoms and keep a note of any reactions after avoiding the allergens. Do not skip follow-up appointments.

• Maintain a healthy diet, lifestyle habits and make sure your family and house helpers are aware of your allergies to ensure safety.

• Carry the recommended medications with you at all the times for emergency.

Allergy skin tests are a safe and highly effective testing technique to detect immediate allergies (IgE-mediated). It offers quick results, usually within 15-20 minutes, allowing the medical professionals to recognize allergens(foods, pollens, dust) that trigger symptoms. Allergies cause uncomfortable. By detecting the allergens, your healthcare provider can plan allergen avoidance strategies, personalized management, and tailored treatment to ease symptoms and improve life quality.

Consult a medical professional, immunologist, or allergist and get tested for allergies to identify the triggers and get rid of annoying symptoms.

***Medical Disclaimer - The following information is for educational purposes only. No information provided on this website, including text, graphics, and images, is intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your doctor about specific medical advice about your condition(s).