How Long Does Swelling Last After Allergy Testing?
Many people are choosing allergy testing in Los Angeles to find out what sets off their allergies. Knowing what you’re allergic to is helpful because then you can avoid your allergens or know when they are going to flare up.
An allergy test consists of creating a grid on someone’s back or forearm, and each square in the grid is labeled. Then, a drop of a suspected allergen is pricked on the skin’s surface in the grid square that corresponds. After performing the test, you will be held in your ENT’s office for fifteen minutes to an hour to see which squares cause a reaction.
Based on the redness and swelling at the test site, your ENT doctor in Los Angeles can then identify the allergens that are specific to your reactions. A site with a positive reaction will induce itching red bumps which look and feel like mosquito bites.
While the test was a success because you now know what you are allergic to, you may still feel unhappy because your test site is itchy and uncomfortable.
But how long do the swelling and itching last after an allergy test?
The itching and bumps should go away in a few minutes or hours. For more severe allergies, you may still feel their effects for an hour or two. In order to shorten any discomfort you may feel, your allergy doctor may give you an antihistamine pill or cream to use.
An antihistamine will decrease your reaction and make you feel more like normal.
Our office for allergy testing can test for just about every allergy, whether it’s due to food, pet fur, or pollen allergies. We can also offer effective allergy treatment plans so that you don’t just experience a minimized reaction, but instead, you reach immunity against these allergens.
The doctor can then prescribe you allergy shots or allergy drops to help treat these allergies. By exposing you to a minuscule amount of an allergen and then increasing that amount over time, your body can then reach immunity.
Contact our office if you’d like to stop your allergies from controlling your life. We will work with you for a treatment plan so that you can start enjoying the changing of the seasons and the great outdoors again!