Symptom calendar
Hay fever - a seasonal allergy to pollen - has a clear connection to the time of year, and this is the main diagnostic clue. The spring period corresponds to the dusting of trees, the beginning of summer - cereal grasses, the end of summer and autumn - weeds, primarily ragweed and wormwood. Symptoms include nasal congestion, copious watery discharge, sneezing attacks, itching of the eyes and palate, and in some patients, attacks of suffocation. Accurate identification of the culprit allergen is important for two reasons: it allows early initiation of preventive therapy before the season and is a prerequisite for allergen-specific immunotherapy - the only method that affects the cause of the disease, and not just the symptoms. Additionally, the identification of pollen sensitization explains cross-dietary reactions to fruits and nuts.
Blood test instead of skin test
Determination of specific IgE in the blood has important advantages over skin tests: it can be carried out during an exacerbation, while taking antihistamines, with severe dermatitis, when the skin is unsuitable for testing, and in young children. There is also no risk of a systemic reaction, since the allergen is not introduced into the body.
The panel format allows you to immediately test a group of related allergens in one blood draw - it is cheaper and more informative than testing each one separately.
How to read the result
- class 0 - no antibodies detected
- class 1 - low level, clinical significance is questionable
- grades 2–3 - moderate level, reaction is likely
- grades 4–6 – high and very high level, reaction is very likely
The main rule of interpretation
The presence of specific IgE means sensitization - the readiness of the immune system to respond, but not the allergy itself. A diagnosis is made only if laboratory data coincide with real symptoms after contact with this allergen. That is why you should not exclude a product from the diet only on the basis of analysis, without clinical manifestations - especially in children.