This post is a paid partnership with Klarify.
Allergies are something many people deal with. Whether it is an allergy to certain foods or specific animals, they can be tough to live with – and that’s once you have identified them! Sometimes you can think you’re allergic to something but won’t know until you are tested for it.
What Is An Allergy?
An allergy is defined as a reaction that your body has to a particular food or substance. They can be quite common in children but adults also get them too. Common triggers include pollen, food and animals.
Symptoms may include sneezing, wheezing and itchy eyes but if it is life threatening, people may also experience swelling and breathing difficulties.
Am I Allergic To Anything?
I know that I have hayfever so I know I am allergic to pollen. It has got worse and worse as I’ve got older and I know what medications work for me and which ones do not – which was awful when I was pregnant as I couldn’t take the medication that worked for me and spent all Spring and Summer reacting!
Recently, however, I have started to notice that I am having a reaction around certain animals – cats, in particular. It is only when I look back that I realised that this reaction has been going on a lot longer but I never associated it with the cats and always thought it was the fault of something else. But I don’t want to bother the doctors over something that I can deal with – after all, I can easily avoid cats, I don’t need to be around them! So how would I find out if I was allergic?
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Finding Out If You Have An Allergy
Thankfully there is a great alternative if you want to find out if you have an allergy. You can easily order a home allergy test – a home to lab kit that includes everything you need to take a small blood sample and send off.
These tests check for 294 different allergens – I hadn’t realised there were so many! – and you should receive results within two weeks. Whilst they can identify a possible allergen, it is important to remember that these tests are a first step to finding out if your symptoms are caused by an allergy and the results should be discussed with a doctor alongside the symptoms and your medical history.
Testing for allergies may be concerning to you but this explains all about allergy blood tests and how to read results. There is no need to be worried as it simply helps you to find out what is potentially causing you so much frustration.
Once You’ve Found Out
Once you have found out if you have potentially got an allergy, there are a few different routes to take. If nothing shows up, then you could do nothing but it may also be wise to contact your health professional. If something does show up, then it is important to speak to your GP for a discussion.
I hope this helps you if you think you may be suffering from an allergy. I’m definitely considering finding out if I am allergic to cats like I think I might be!
Do you suffer from an allergy?
I am also a fellow hayfever sufferer and I think I have a cat allergy. I grew up with cats, but when I moved out of home and got used to not being around them, I couldn’t stand being around cats.
I would be really interested in having it confirmed because it can make me really miserable when its at it’s worse x
My son just got done going to an allergist to see if he was allergic to anything, thank goodness that he isn’t though!
Allergies are such a tricky one and it is deffo best top try and get to the root cause quick, as to why people have flare ups etc x
It’s great that you can get a home testing kit. It’s so much easier than having to go to the doctors or elsewhere to have the test done, more so at the moment.
I have a couple of allergies and they are already awake now that Spring is near but I love this allergy kit.
I’m not aware of any allergies I have, but I do want to take an allergy test to check if there’s anything I’m not aware of x
I don’t think I have an allergy to anything but it is always to go know for sure by taking a test via the allergy kit.
I got tested for allergies a few years ago but thankfully I don’t have any. I think it’s helpful to find out either way.
I often wonder if I am allergic to something; I have a skin condition and it does seem to get worse when I eat certain foods. The hospital seem reluctant to run any tests but I am keen to try a home kit.