Published: February 2025
Medically reviewed by:
Magnus Borres, Director of Medical Affairs
Think it’s allergy symptoms? It’s time to test. Did you know there is a test available to help your allergy diagnosis?
Patients presenting with symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, and a runny nose look to you not only for answers, but for relief.
Yet, symptoms and history alone might not be enough to know the root cause – is it the new puppy at home or the high pollen count outdoors? Could it be dust mites in their bedding or perhaps an allergy to mold or mites?
The bottom line is: specific lgE blood testing is a convenient and accurate way to identify what's causing their symptoms.
Here are four reasons to put your patients' symptoms to the test in primary care:
1. Improve patients’ quality of life
While rhinitis symptoms aren't the most concerning symptoms seen in primary care, they have a significant impact on an individual's quality of life.1 If untreated, allergic rhinitis can contribute to the development of allergic asthma.2
2. Achieve diagnostic clarity for target care
Helping patients determine if their symptoms are lgE-mediated or not can aid in your diagnosis. The symptom overlap between allergic and non-allergic rhinitis makes it difficult to diagnose which disease is causing symptoms through patient history and physical exam alone.3
Think about this:
Up to 80% of allergic patients are sensitized to more than one allergen, making specific lgE testing essential for effective care.3
3. Leverage the value of a negative lgE result
There's power in a negative specific lgE blood result, too.4 A negative result suggests that additional investigation of the underlying causes of allergy-like symptoms is required. Patients with negative specific lgE blood test results may need to avoid allergens and/or take symptomatic medications, like antihistamines, that can be costly, likely ineffective and can cause side effects.3
Quick insight:
In one study, approximately 65% of patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis and prescribed antihistamines had symptoms that were not due to allergy.5
Negative specific lgE blood test results can enable:
- Additional investigation
- Appropriate avoidance of allergens
- Less money spent on antihistamines
4. Elevate primary care allergy management
Allergy management in primary care is critical.3 Primary care is often the first place a patient turns to after over-the-counter medications don't seem to work. This affords an opportunity for clinicians to help patients identify specific allergens impacting their life and wellbeing.
Take action for patients' respiratory symptoms with ImmunoCAP Specific IgE testing
When in doubt, test and take control. ImmununoCAP™ Specific lgE blood testing can help give you a comprehensive view of a patient's suspected allergies through:
1. Accurately identifying specific allergen sensitization in patients to help confirm allergies.6
2. Quantifiable results for tested allergens that can help guide rhinitis and asthma management in the context of the patient's clinical presentation.3
3. Leveraging lmmunoCAP Specific lgE testing that is considered the gold standard for in vitro allergy diagnostics,7 supported by more than 4,000 scientific articles.8
