Do At-Home Food Allergy Tests Work?

Food allergies are common yet can also be dangerous. At-home testing promises a convenient alternative to in-office food allergy tests — but do these tests work? Here’s the answer.

Roughly 33 million Americans have at least one food allergy, including both kids and adults, and nearly half of those people have had at least one severe reaction. Even mild food allergies can impact your health and nutrition, not to mention your routines and quality of life. More severe allergies can be debilitating and even life-threatening.

If you’re one of the millions suffering from food allergies, it may be tempting to use an in-home testing kit to identify which foods cause symptoms so you can, ideally, prevent flare-ups. But the main question is this: Do they work?

Unfortunately, the answer is no — to date, these tests are not backed by clinical evidence. The good news: Allergy testing with the team at Allergy Associates of Utah is simple, straightforward, and, most of all, accurate. If you have food allergies, here’s why professional testing is the right choice.

The problem with at-home testing kits

Most of us lead busy lives with lots of commitments, and the idea of avoiding a trip to the doctor can be appealing. Some at-home medical testing kits provide a safe, effective alternative that provides accurate results for many people. Colorectal cancer test kits are a great example of at-home kits proven to provide dependable results for specific groups of patients.

Although at-home allergy test kits purport to offer the same sort of convenience, they simply aren’t able to provide the accuracy you need when you’re trying to manage allergy symptoms and avoid potentially serious flare-ups. That’s due in part to the underlying causes of allergic reactions.

Food allergies happen when your immune system overreacts to a particular food or ingredient. That overreaction is complex, potentially involving multiple contributing factors. To identify a food as an allergen, you need to be tested for all those factors — and to date, at-home testing is not that advanced or comprehensive.

Without optimal accuracy, at-home food allergy test kits may “miss” foods that cause reactions, leaving you at risk of future flare-ups and potentially life-threatening complications like anaphylaxis. On the other hand, misidentifying a food as an allergy source can lead you to eliminate foods unnecessarily, wreaking havoc with your diet and possibly resulting in nutritional deficiencies.

Professional allergy testing: A better option

In-office allergy testing uses a variety of tests and analyses based on the latest scientific methodology to identify food allergies and help you treat them. Food allergy testing typically involves skin tests or blood tests.

In a skin test, we apply a tiny amount of an allergen to your skin, then prick the skin so the substance “soaks in.” We cover the area and evaluate it again in a few minutes and up to 48 hours later, looking for signs of an allergic reaction.

Blood testing draws a small sample of your blood and evaluates it in a lab, looking for antibodies (special proteins) associated with allergen exposure. If you have higher-than-normal levels, that can indicate an allergy, or it might indicate a need for further testing, sometimes using a second type of evaluation called a food challenge.

In a food challenge, you’ll consume a small amount of a specific food to determine if it’s causing your allergy. The challenge is performed in our office so we can provide immediate treatment if a reaction occurs.

In addition to identifying allergies, our team works with you to develop an allergy treatment plan to reduce symptoms and keep you healthy. Depending on your allergies and reactions, we may prescribe medication to relieve symptoms if they do occur or prevent a severe flare-up.

Don’t trade accuracy for convenience

There may be a day sometime in the future when at-home food allergy tests are as accurate and dependable as in-office testing, but for now, at-home tests have significant drawbacks that can leave your health at risk. In-office testing provides you with accurate results, personalized attention, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing you’re getting the care you need to stay healthy.

To find out what’s causing your allergy symptoms and how we can help you manage them, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Allergy Associates of Utah today.