Food Allergy Test Price in Pakistan: Rs 4,900 at Marham Lab

A food allergy blood test measures allergy causing antibodies called immunoglobulin E, or IgE. MedlinePlus explains that antibodies are proteins your immune system makes to fight foreign substances, and that it may also make them in response to allergens, which are harmless substances that cause an allergic reaction in some people. It is normal to have small amounts of IgE in your blood. During an allergic reaction the immune system treats the allergen as a threat and makes more. At Marham Lab the universal food allergens profile costs Rs 4,900, reduced from Rs 7,000.

A Positive Result Does Not Mean You Must Stop Eating That Food

This is the most important thing on the page, and it is where a great deal of money and needless dieting is wasted in Pakistan.

MedlinePlus states that a high specific IgE result means you may be allergic to the allergen that was tested, and that the amount of IgE measured does not predict how serious your allergy may be. A high number is not a severe allergy and a low number is not a mild one.

MedlinePlus is also direct that allergy blood tests may not always be accurate. It describes false positives, where results say you have an allergy when you do not, and notes this may happen if your body is having a slight reaction to substances in certain foods you ate before the test. It adds that higher amounts of IgE may also be caused by smoking or a parasitic infection, which matters here, since intestinal parasites are common in Pakistan and can raise IgE without any food allergy at all.

False negatives are the rarer problem. MedlinePlus says it is uncommon for a blood test to show you do not have an allergy when you actually do.

So the report is a starting point for an allergist, not an instruction to eliminate foods. MedlinePlus says that if results suggest an allergy, your provider may refer you to an allergy specialist or recommend a treatment plan.

Total IgE or Specific IgE: Two Different Tests

MedlinePlus sets out two general types of allergy blood test, and Marham Lab lists both.

MedlinePlus explains the difference plainly. A total IgE test that is high means you may have some kind of allergy, though the result does not show what you are allergic to or how serious it may be. A specific IgE test measures the response to individual allergens, with a separate test for each one.

If your symptoms come after eating, the food panel is the relevant one. If they come with the seasons, dust or animals, the inhalant panel is. Book what your doctor wrote, and if both were ordered, book both.

When a Blood Test Is Used Instead of a Skin Test

Skin testing puts allergens directly on or into the skin. MedlinePlus lists the situations where a blood test is ordered instead.

• You have certain skin conditions
• You take certain medicines that may affect the results of a skin test
• You are likely to have a serious allergic reaction to the allergens used in skin testing
• You are a young child, since MedlinePlus notes skin testing may be too uncomfortable for them

MedlinePlus adds that depending on your history and symptoms, a provider may order a skin test alongside a blood test, or a skin test alone. Blood testing is the safer option where a serious reaction is a real possibility.

Symptoms That Justify Testing

MedlinePlus lists the symptoms that prompt allergy testing.

• Stuffy or runny nose
• Sneezing
• Itchy, watery eyes
• Hives, which are itchy raised red patches on the skin
• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing
• Wheezing

MedlinePlus notes symptoms range from mild to severe depending on the type of allergy, from itching and sneezing through asthma to a life threatening condition called anaphylactic shock.

If Anaphylaxis Is a Possibility

Read this part even if the rest feels routine.

MedlinePlus states that anaphylactic shock is most common with allergies to certain foods, medicines, insect bites and stings, and latex. That puts food allergy squarely in the group where it matters.

It says that if you are at risk, you will need to be very careful to avoid the things you are allergic to, and that you may need to carry an emergency epinephrine treatment, an adrenaline auto injector, with you at all times. MedlinePlus advises asking your provider directly whether you are at risk.

That question is worth asking out loud at the appointment rather than leaving it to be inferred from a number on a report.

What the Panel Covers

MedlinePlus lists common allergens as pollen, dust, mould, animal dander, certain foods including nuts and shellfish, and certain medicines such as penicillin.

The universal food allergens profile screens a standard set of food allergens in one blood sample rather than testing them one at a time. If you already suspect a specific food, tell your doctor, because a targeted specific IgE for that allergen may answer the question more directly.

How to Prepare

MedlinePlus states you do not need any special preparations for an allergy blood test. No fasting is required.

One thing does matter. MedlinePlus notes you may need to stop taking certain medicines before this test, such as antihistamines, so tell your provider about everything you take. Do not stop any medicine unless your provider tells you to.

It is also worth writing down what you ate and what happened, with timings, before the appointment. A food diary is more useful to an allergist than the panel alone, and MedlinePlus notes that a slight reaction to something eaten before the test is one route to a false positive.

What Happens During the Test

A trained phlebotomist takes a small blood sample from a vein in your arm using a small needle. MedlinePlus notes it usually takes less than five minutes and that you may feel a little sting as the needle goes in or out. Slight pain or bruising afterwards settles quickly. In Lahore the sample can be collected at your home at no extra cost.

MedlinePlus states there is very little risk to having an allergy blood test. Unlike skin testing, no allergen is introduced into your body.

اردو میں

کھانے کی الرجی کا ٹیسٹ خون میں آئی جی ای نامی اینٹی باڈیز کی مقدار معلوم کرتا ہے۔ یہ اینٹی باڈیز جسم اس وقت بناتا ہے جب مدافعتی نظام کسی بے ضرر چیز کو خطرہ سمجھ لے۔ خون میں اس کی تھوڑی مقدار ہونا نارمل ہے۔

سب سے ضروری بات یہ ہے۔ رپورٹ میں کسی غذا کا نتیجہ پازیٹو آ جائے تو اس کا مطلب یہ نہیں کہ آپ کو وہ غذا فوراً چھوڑ دینی چاہیے۔ عالمی طبی معلومات کے مطابق آئی جی ای کی مقدار یہ نہیں بتاتی کہ الرجی کتنی شدید ہے۔ زیادہ عدد کا مطلب شدید الرجی نہیں۔

ایک اور اہم بات۔ یہ ٹیسٹ ہمیشہ درست نہیں ہوتا۔ کبھی رپورٹ الرجی ظاہر کرتی ہے حالانکہ الرجی نہیں ہوتی۔ سگریٹ نوشی اور پیٹ کے کیڑوں کا انفیکشن بھی آئی جی ای بڑھا دیتے ہیں۔ پاکستان میں پیٹ کے کیڑے عام ہیں، اس لیے یہ بات خاص طور پر یاد رکھیں۔

اسی لیے رپورٹ کو خود پڑھ کر غذائیں بند نہ کریں۔ رپورٹ الرجی کے ماہر ڈاکٹر کو دکھائیں۔ ٹیسٹ سے پہلے بھوکا رہنے کی ضرورت نہیں، البتہ الرجی کی دوائیں یعنی اینٹی ہسٹامین رپورٹ پر اثر ڈال سکتی ہیں، ان کے بارے میں ڈاکٹر سے پوچھ لیں۔ اپنی مرضی سے کوئی دوا بند نہ کریں۔

اگر کسی غذا کے بعد سانس رکنے لگے، گلا یا چہرہ سوج جائے، یا بے ہوشی محسوس ہو تو یہ شدید الرجی کی علامت ہے اور فوری ہسپتال جانا ضروری ہے۔ ایسی صورت میں ڈاکٹر سے ایمرجنسی انجکشن کے بارے میں ضرور پوچھیں۔ مرہم لیب میں اس ٹیسٹ کی قیمت چار ہزار نو سو روپے ہے اور لاہور میں گھر سے نمونہ لینے کی سہولت مفت ہے۔

Final Thoughts

Food allergy testing is worth doing when symptoms follow eating and a doctor has asked for it. It is worth doing carefully, because the result is easy to over read. The number does not measure severity, false positives are a recognised problem, and smoking or a parasitic infection can lift IgE on their own. Take the report to an allergy specialist with a written record of what you ate and what happened, and ask directly whether you are at risk of anaphylaxis.