Diagnosing a Peanut Allergy

Diagnosis of peanut allergy is available and, depending on your case, includes blood testing and skin testing. In addition to these two methods, the diagnosis of this allergy by a doctor must be confirmed with the symptoms as described by the patient.

Blood Test. Allergen blood test (also known as radioallergosorbent tests or RAST, fluorescent allergosorbent tests or FAST, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays or ELISA, multiple radioallergosorbent tests or MAST, or radioimmunosorbent tests or RIST, are sometimes utilized when people have a skin condition or taking mecications which can interfere with skin testing. Your physician will ask for a blood sample and forward it to a laboratory. The lab, in turn, adds a concentrated form of allergen to your blood, then measures the amount of antibodies your blood produces to mount an attack on the allergens.

Skin Test. This is the most accurate and least expensive way to confirm allergies and suspected allergens. This test has 2 types: intra-dermal testing and prick/scratch testing. In the first one, a small amount of allergen is injected into the outer layer of the skin to see the result. In the second one, a tiny drop of the suspected allergen is placed on the skin, followed by lightly pricking or scratching with a needle through the drop.