The Centre For Balanced Medicine
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Allergy Testing
It would be wonderful if there was a 100% reliable, easy test to identify all allergies; however, such a test does not yet exist, with all tests yielding false positive and negative results in a percentage of patients. Some allergy tests provide useful information in certain circumstances, and others are of little proven value. Whilst some reactions to foods and the environment may be caused by antibodies, others are thought to be cell mediated, and these are more difficult to identify.
So how do we go about identifying potential allergens? Well, the most important tool is taking a good medical and environmental history from the client, sometimes supplemented by food diaries. We also use the Stone Age diet, or sometimes elimination diets, to help to identify food triggers. Sometimes basic dietary changes and cleaning up one’s environment are all that is necessary to resolve the problem.
At the Centre, we are also able to offer a range of allergy tests including:
- IgE antibodies – for specific named food, insect, animal and bird allergens
- Lymphocyte sensitivity tests – for pesticides, solvents, drugs, chemicals, additives and metals
- Alcat blood tests – for foods; said to correlate well with elimination diet results
- Patch tests – useful for contact dermatitis
However, the use of EPD (enzyme potentiated desensitisation) means that it is not always necessary to identify every substance to which someone is allergic. Because EPD can be given for a wide range of foods, inhalants and chemicals in one dose, it can be used when there is a history suggestive of an allergic component, but where the precise allergens have not been identified. For example, if there is a history of hay fever, EPD with mixed inhalants can be given without the need to identify which to particular pollens a person is allergic. The same principle applies to other allergic conditions.