Allergen, Individual-Food Cheese Cheddar Test

This blood test measures your sensitivity to Cheddar Cheese from an antibody-mediated immune response. Consumption of certain foods like milk, egg, soya, wheat, peanut, etc are known to cause allergies in a sensitized individual. A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to food. The signs and symptoms may range from mild to severe. They may include itchiness, swelling of the tongue, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, trouble breathing, or low blood pressure. This typically occurs within 45 minutes of ingestion of food. However, reactions occurring several hours after consumption are usually not related to allergies.

No special preparation is needed for this test. There is no need to disturb your diet for this type of test. You can eat and drink water normally. Some medications may influence the outcome of this test. So it is advised to inform about the same to the laboratory professional. The patient is also advised to either wear a sleeve-less or short-sleeved shirt. Wearing a full-sleeved shirt that can be rolled up easily can also be worn by the patient. Any other required instructions will be provided by the laboratory professional.

As mentioned above, this test is used to detect whether you have allergy from consumption of Cheddar Cheese or not. A positive test result (class 1 or greater) on the reference range is indicative of the presence of allergen-specific IgE and suggests an increased likelihood of allergic disease due to consumption of Cheddar Cheese. However, in some patients, the test results may not be predictive of a clinical disease. In such cases, the diagnosis of allergy should be based upon patient history and clinical findings. The doctor may order for more tests as per his discretion.

An alcohol pad is used to clean the skin. A needle is then injected through the part of the rinsed skin into your vein. The blood is then dragged out from the needle by a nozzle, saved in a vessel and sealed with your name. This sample is then sent to the research laboratory for examination. Serum is extracted from the blood for diagnosing the allergy.