Food Allergy Testing Specialist in Coral Gables and Palmetto Bay, FL

There are several ways we can test for food allergies at Piniella Asthma and Allergy Center. Most of the time a skin test is all that is needed to determine your food allergy, although there are times when a blood test is required.

At Piniella Asthma and Allergy Center, we both have skin prick tests and patch tests. Both tests involve exposing a tiny part of your skin to a liquid food extract of the food we are testing. For a skin prick test, we use a needle to prick your skin with a tiny amount of liquid. After about 20 minutes, if you are allergic to the food, a small red bump will appear similar to a mosquito bite. For those who do not want their skin pricked, we also have patch testing. This method involved enclosing a small part of your skin and exposing it to the possible food allergy you might have. While this method does not include your skin being pricked, it takes about two weeks for the test to be completed.

Our allergists can rule out food allergies through skin tests in most cases. Sometimes people’s tests may result in a “false positive.” They will test positive for food allergies by never showing any symptoms of it. To confirm this, we will conduct a follow-up test known as a food challenge. During this test, a patient will eat or drink small amounts of food in an increasing quantity to see if any allergy-related symptoms occur. This test is done at our clinic under our close supervision for the safety of the patient.

It can be hard to figure out which foods make you sick. Some people know exactly which ones do, often breaking out into a rash after they are exposed to it. However, this is not the case for everyone. Some people only show symptoms hours after they are exposed to a portion of food and may have trouble tracing it back to figure out why they feel that way.

Our allergist will meet with you one on one to diagnose your food allergy. They will review your complete medical history and ask you a variety of questions to help determine the source of your food allergy. Our allergists will want to know how often your symptoms appear if it depends on the amount of food you eat, and the exact symptoms you experience when you have an allergic reaction.

If your food allergy is difficult to identify, our allergists may put you on a special diet to help them narrow it down. You will also likely be asked to keep a detailed food diary of what you eat and when you experience your symptoms. Doing this allows our doctors to pinpoint the cause of your symptoms. For example, if your special diet avoids a suspect food for a couple of weeks and you only experience symptoms once you eat it again, that’s usually a tell-tale sign that our allergist has found the culprit.

This particular diet, with which foods to avoid and when you should eat them again should be decided together with our allergist. You should never try to test foods on your own without their guidance. It could be very dangerous to your health.

Our team of food allergy specialists can provide you with confidential and top-notch food allergy testing and treatment services at our state-of-the-art clinics. Call us today for more information, and to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. We look forward to helping you feel better soon, and helping you with all of your food allergy needs! We serve patients from Coral Gables FL, Palmetto Bay FL, Westchester FL, Brownsville FL, Kendall FL, Pinecrest FL, Richmond West FL, and Goulds FL.