Want more iVillage? Sign up for our
Newsletters
Allergic Rhinitis - Exams and Tests
SYMPTOMS & TREATMENTS
- Overview
-
Health Tools
- FAQs
- Cause
- Symptoms
- What Happens
- What Increases Your Risk
- When to Call a Doctor
- Exams and Tests
- Treatment Overview
- Prevention
- Home Treatment
- Medications
- Surgery
- Other Treatment
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information
- References
- Credits
Your doctor can usually diagnose allergic rhinitis by asking you questions about your symptoms, your activities, and your home life, and examining you. You may need further testing if:
- You and your doctor need to find out exactly what things you are allergic to so that you can take steps to avoid them.
- Treatment is not helping your symptoms.
- You have severe symptoms.
- You are considering allergy shots (immunotherapy).
In these situations, your doctor may suggest:
- Allergy tests. These include:
- Skin tests. Your doctor will put a liquid containing an allergen on the top layer of your skin and then prick your skin. If the skin reacts with a raised itchy area (called a wheal), it usually means that you are allergic to that allergen. Skin tests are fast, simple, and relatively safe.
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, EIA). It measures the blood level of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies that the body may make in response to certain allergens. IgE levels are often higher in people who have allergies or asthma. ELISA may be done instead of or along with a skin test.
- Nasal cytology (nasal smear) testing. This measures eosinophils, a type of white blood cell that may be in the nasal drainage of people who have allergies. Your doctor may use this test to confirm a diagnosis of allergic rhinitis.
Accurate diagnosis of allergic rhinitis is important because many problems have similar symptoms (such as upper respiratory tract infections). Finding what causes your symptoms can help your doctor find the best treatment for you. Your doctor can also see if you have complications, such as sinusitis or asthma.
If your doctor thinks that you have allergic rhinitis, and there are no signs of complications, he or she may decide to treat your symptoms without doing lab tests and then check your symptoms again later.
Other tests for allergies
In most cases, you do not need testing. But your doctor may suggest some tests to eliminate other conditions as the cause of your symptoms. These tests include:
- Imaging tests. Imaging tests of the sinuses, such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs, cannot diagnose allergic rhinitis directly. But they can find other diseases, such as a sinus infection (sinusitis), chronic inflammation (thickening) of the sinus lining (often seen in people with asthma), structural defects of the nose, or, in rare cases, cancer.
- Rhinoscopy or nasal endoscopy. In rhinoscopy, your doctor uses a tool called a rhinoscope to see inside the nasal cavity. A nasal endoscopy looks inside the nasal passage with a lighted, flexible tube. Both of these tests look for nasal polyps and other problems that may block the nasal cavity.
- Mucociliary clearance testing. Doctors use mucociliary clearance testing to check for abnormal cilia in people who have very thick nasal discharge. Cilia are tiny hairs on the lining of the nasal passages that beat back and forth to remove particles from the nose. Certain rare diseases can cause problems in the cilia, leading to more nasal secretions.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: August 4, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Harold S. Nelson, MD - Allergy and Immunology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:
- Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
- Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
- Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.
The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.
How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?
Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.
How do I save content to my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.
How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.
How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.
To manage your Care Circle, Please
Sign In.
