Could You Be Suffering From An Allergy?
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Allergies are extremely common – if you get a group of six people in a garden (Covid rules now permitting), at least one of them would be a person suffering from some form of an allergy. They can vary from common allergies such as pollen, pets and insect bites, to rarer forms, and they can also vary in their severity, from those that cause minor discomfort like sneezes, to those that can be dangerous and even deadly, like peanut and bee and wasp stings.
An allergy is something that you have to live with, but many can be treated once identified, and can also be protected against, for instance, people who can suffer through stings can carry an epi pen in case they are stung, and this can help them to avoid seriously dangerous symptoms like anaphylactic shock. If you know you have a food allergy, you can be careful when you make food choices, and for simple things like Hay Fever, you can use an anti-histamine like Piriton to alleviate the worst of the symptoms – the runny eyes and streaming nose for instance. But to live with any allergy you first need to identify that you actually are allergic to something.
One way that you can now find out about allergies is by using a home testing kit from Klarify.me. Their testing kits include all you need to take a small sample of blood that can then be tested at a professional lab against 294 different allergens. The blood testing looks for specific immunoglobin in the blood, which can then can give an indication of your sensitisation to potential allergy triggers, called allergens. Results are obtained quickly, within two weeks, and then arm you with evidence to take to a doctor or specialist to identify your precise allergy, and treat it accordingly.
This test is a way to make a first step to finding out if your symptoms might be caused by an allergy. It does not diagnose the precise allergy, the test will then need to be interpreted by a doctor alongside your symptoms and medical history. Your doctor will be able to advise you on any necessary follow-up action to diagnose and treat you.
We are currently in a situation where getting to see our GP face to face is difficult due to Covid 19. This may mean that we are living with conditions that make us feel miserable. Allergies manifest themselves in many ways, from cold type symptoms of streaming eyes and runny noses, to stomach upsets and bloating, diarrhoea and nausea. There can also be redness and rashes, headaches, even in severe cases, anaphalyxis. Using a home testing kit can help you identify that you have an allergy much quicker so you can then present these findings to your doctor during a video or telephone appointment. It can identify your triggers, and rule out others, and can thus also speed up the process of reducing your symptoms so you can live easier with it.