What does an allergy test cost?
An allergy test has different costs depending on the type of test and the place where it is performed or the person offering the allergy test. Usually the cost of an allergy test is between about 50 and 150 Euros. In case of a concrete suspicion of an allergy, the costs are usually covered by the statutory or private health insurance.
It must be clear that the allergy causes discomfort to the person concerned. In the case of an allergy test, which should be carried out in a clinic, for example if there is a suspicion of an allergy to medication, the costs are correspondingly higher. They depend on how long the person concerned stays in the clinic and are also usually covered by the health insurance company. If it is unclear whether the costs will be covered, the responsible health insurance company should be consulted again before the test is carried out.
What role does histamine play in an allergy test?
Histamine is a tissue hormone that occurs naturally in the body and plays an important role in an allergic reaction. This means that it acts as a mediator and plays an important role in various processes of the immune system. The severity of an allergic reaction depends, among other factors, on the amount of histamine released by the allergen, i.e. the substance that triggers the allergy.
In a prick test or other skin test, the redness and formation of blisters after application of the allergen correlates directly with the amount of histamine released in the body. In addition, histamine itself is always used as the allergen in the prick test to perform a positive control. This means that when performing the prick test with histamine as allergen, there is usually always a small allergic reaction in the form of redness and blistering. This can be used as a reference to compare other allergens and the severity of the allergic reactions they cause.
Is it possible and useful to do an allergy test for babies?
An allergy test can also be performed at an early age. It is common that usually no skin test is performed on a child younger than 4 years old. This is because if an anaphylactic shock occurs despite the low risk, it is more difficult to treat in children.
In addition, it can often have more serious consequences than in an adult. Often the skin test of small children is carried out during an operation, for example a dental treatment under anaesthesia, in order to spare the children as much suffering as possible. For babies, a blood test to check for allergies can only be carried out after a sufficient cost-benefit analysis. It is very sensible to carry out an allergy test on a child as early as possible in order to be able to recognise a diagnosed allergy early on and treat it adequately.
