Prick Testing

Patients suffering from suspected allergies, such as food allergy, asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic eye disease may benefit from prick testing. Dr Buckley provides this service for adults aged 18 years and older. The procedure is quick and painless and can be carried out at your first consultation, usually on your forearm. It is important to stop antihistamines for a few days before your appointment, if you possibly can. Test solutions are available for pets, dust, pollens and mould as well as the most common food allergens, including nuts. It is also important to bring with you a small amount of each of the specific foods to which you get a reaction. 

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Other allergy tests, eg the ALEX 3 blood test, can additionally be arranged. The most important thing when a blood test for allergy is ordered is expert interpretation of the result. Sometimes the results of blood tests for allergy can be misleading and can lead to unnecessary avoidance of a day-to-day item like a type of food. Dr Buckley is an expert in allergy and in interpretation of test results.

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During your allergy consultation the details of the conditions and allergies from which you have suffered will be assessed in detail. Appropriate treatment for each aspect of your allergies will be prescribed and ways of avoiding or improving symptoms discussed.

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Sublingual immunotherapy for grass pollen allergy, birch pollen allergy or house dust mite allergy is available as licensed tablets known as Grazax, Itulavax and Acarizax. It is a 3-year course of treatment under the tongue and can reduce the need for antihistamines and other medicines by about a third, while also reducing symptoms by about a third. This treatment is safe but the tablets are expensive, more than £100 per month, depending which pharmacy you choose. Most patients choose to optimise other treatments, including type and dose of antihistamine, technique for nasal sprays and reducing exposure to the allergen.