The Skin Prick test has been in use for years but how good is it?

A recent study by Southampton Children’s Hospital has cautioned that tests to detect food allergies in children could be missing many potentially life-threatening conditions. Experts have warned that for every child diagnosed with an allergy via blood or skin prick test another goes undiagnosed.

A specialist paediatric dietician Dr Kate Grimshaw at the Hospital said that not all allergies can be detected by measuring levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody which is linked to allergic reactions. Her advice comes as new research into cow’s milk allergy found that for every UK child who had a cow’s milk reaction due to IgE in their blood there was a child who had a reaction who did not. The same advice could relate to adults as well as children.

Our allergy nurse Marlene has a Diploma in Allergy and has long advocated that to properly diagnose an allergy the testing by IgE pinprick or by a diagnostic machine is insufficient to arrive at a clear result. Just as important as the taking of family history notes & discussion of all symptoms presenting themselves with the patient.