Taking an allergy test today is infinitely easier today than it was fifty years ago. Today all you have to do is to prick your finger with a pin, draw a bit of blood, place it in a specialized container, send it to the lab and wait a week of so for the results.
In years past if you wanted to have an allergy test, you would have to see a doctor, have him prick your skin with various allergens, and then see him again to get the results of the tests a few weeks later.
Things are a lot different today. Today you can literally have yourself tested by picking up one of the allergy home test kits. The prices for such a kit vary greatly, but at this time you can find them on the Internet in the range of $60-$110.
Typical of one of these at home food intolerance kits is one that will screen your reactions to over one hundred foods, including one of the more prevalent foods that causes allergies - gluten. You pick up the kit, test yourself in the privacy of your own home, and get your results back right away.
In fact, some of the newer kits don't even require that blood be drawn. A simple bloodless pin prick is all that is needed for the laboratory to test you against all one hundred plus allergens. When completed, the lab will send you a detailed report telling you which foods you tested positive for and which ones you had no reaction to. A positive test result towards a certain food means that you have an allergy towards that food.
Some of the laboratories, in addition to the detailed test results, will send you a sheet of dietary recommendations customized to your test results. But, even if you don't receive any food recommendations, you can take the test results to any registered dietician and have her set you up with a food elimination diet.
Such a diet will focus on eliminating the foods that you tested positive for from your diet. The hope is that once these foods are eliminated, the underlying allergy problems that you have been experiencing will be eliminated as well.
Once you have your test results back, check with your insurance company to see if they will reimburse you for the kit and the test, because some will. But whether they do or don't reimburse you, if you have been bothered all your life by bloating, skin breakouts, unexplained weight gain, or other food allergies, taking this test could be the best thing that you could do to regain your health.
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