Diagnosing Wheat Allergy

Wheat allergy can normally be diagnosed after the first symptoms come out. However, for the uninitiated and lay people, it will be difficult to pinpoint what type of allergen is causing the issue because there is another possibility that the allergy is being caused by another type of cereal or by a totally different allergen.

If there are no clear indications what type of allergy he or she is dealing with your doctor will ask for a RAST test. RAST stands for radioallergosorbent test. It is a type of skin testing by using a blood sample from the patient to determine what substances are causing the allergy. A concentrated form of a suspected allergen is added into the blood sample to check the amount of antibodies produced by the blood. If the result is positive, the blood will produce a significant amount of antibodies to defeat the allergen. This test is different from skin allergy test, which determines allergy through the reaction of a person's skin from different allergens.

RAST is normally done together with other tests to help with the confirmation of an allergy. Consult your doctor regarding the complete information about this test. Your doctor may also requests for some other tests to make a complete diagnosis.