GP Matters has a Doctor with qualifications and experience in the management of allergy.
Dr McAlister completed an Allergy Degree Module
through the National Respiratory Training Centre at the University of Warwick in 2003 and has worked part time as an Allergy Specialist at Glasgow Yorkhill Hospital.
"The basis for making a diagnosis of allergy is the consultation."
The first step in the diagnosis of any allergy is taking a thorough medical history. The key is that exposure to an agent results in symptoms suggestive of allergy which are redness, itch and swelling and that this occurs within minutes or up to one hour after contact. This usually presents as itching and burning in the mouth followed by swelling of the lips and a feeling of being unable to breathe. It can also present as sneezing, a blocked nose, a runny nose, a post nasal drip or itchy streaming eyes.
We were the first private clinic in Scotland to provide a skin prick allergy test. The results of this testing are read after 15 minutes therefore you would have the results before you leave the clinic.
Skin prick testing introduces a small amount of liquid containing the proteins of the common airborne allergens or food allergens into the skin. A positive test results in a red itchy weal at the injection site. Skin prick testing is safe and not particularly uncomfortable.
Make sure you do not take antihistamines before the test, as they make the results meaningless.
To ensure the results are accurate, there should have been no antihistamine taken for three days prior to the testing. Also please include any medication you take on the registration form you complete on arrival at the clinic.
Please follow the link for a list of Available Allergens for Skin Prick Testing
Like the skin prick allergy test, this method provides quality, reliable results, they just take a little longer to process – approximately 5-10 working days.
Tests are available for over 500 substances ranging from wheat to blomia tropicalis (a tropical mite). Please follow the link for a list of Available allergens for blood testing.
In addition to the wide range of individual tests, we also provide tests for groups of the more common allergens.
Food profile - £350
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Codfish, Cow’s Milk, Egg White, Egg Yolk, Kiwi, Peanut, Sesame, Soya, Wheat
Inhalant profile - £350
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Alternaria, Aspergillus, Birch Pollen, Cat Dander, Cladosporium, Common Ragweed, Derma farinae, Dog Dander, House Dust Mite, Horse Dander, Timothy Grass
Food and Inhalant profile - £600
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Grass Mix, inc.: Cocksfoot, Meadow Fescue, Meadow, Rye, Timothy
Weed Mix, inc.: Common Ragweed, Giant Ragweed, Western Ragweed
Dust Mix, inc.: Blatella germanica, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, Hollister-Stier Labs
Mould Mix, inc.: A. alternata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Cladosporium herbarum, Helminthosporium halodes, Penicillium notatum
Tree Mix, inc.: Box Elder, Common Silverbirch, Hazel, Oak, London Plane, Maple, Sycamore
Single Allergens (19): Beef, Bermuda Grass, Cat Dander, Clam, Common Silver Birch, Cow’s Milk, Crab, Dog Dander, Egg White, Egg Yolk, Fish (Cod), Hazel Nut, Horse Dander, Latex, Nettle, Peanut, Shrimp/Prawn, Soya Bean, Wheat
Children's profile - £300
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Cat Dander, Cow’s Milk, Egg White, Egg Yolk, Mite, Pteronyssinus, Peanut, Soya Bean, Timothy Grass, Wheat Flour
Shell fish profile - £250
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Clam, Crab, Crawfish/Crayfish, Lobster, Octopus, Prawns/Shrimp, Scallop, Squid
Fin fish profile - £250
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Codfish, Mackerel, Plaice, Sardine/Pilchard, Salmon, Sole, Swordfish, Tuna
Cereal profile - £140
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Barley, Oat, Rye, Wheat
Antibiotics profile - £100
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Cefaclor, Pen G, Pen V
Nuts and seeds profile - £400
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Almond, Brazil Nut, Cashew, Hazel Nut, Macadamia Nut, Peanut, Pecan, Pine Nut, Pistachio, Poppy Seed, Pumpkin Seed, Sesame Seed, Sunflower Seed, Walnut
Insect venoms profile - £200
Total IgE with individual IgE allergens for:
Common Wasp – Yellow Jacket, Bee, Paper Wasp, Yellow Hornet, White Faced Hornet
Gluten profile - £350
Gluten single IgE Allergen
Endomysial Antibodies IgA
Deamidated Gliadin IgG Antibodies
Tissue Transglutaminase IgA
HLA DQ2/DQ8
Total IgA
Consultation: £100
Consultation + Skin Prick Testing: £150
Follow this link for Available allergens for Skin Prick Testing
Single IgE blood tests cost £40 each.
Follow this link for Available allergens for Blood Testing
Pollinex Quattro injections for grass or tree pollen - 3 year treatment
Guide price per year: £1250 for the kit/medication plus 4 x £100 consultations for the administration of the Pollinex injections.
Oralvac sublingual drops for cat or house dust mite allergies - 3 year treatment
Guide price per year: £1500 for the medication plus 1 additional £100 consultation for the supervision of the initial dose.
In general, because of the lack of the maturity of the immune system, we do not recommend allergy testing to children under 12 months.
Dr McAlister will first take the full details of your symptoms and how they have affected you. Other background medical questions will help us to understand other factors that might be involved. From your description of your symptoms, and the answers to other questions, we will begin to understand what the causes might be.
We can provide all available allergy tests. These can be done on the day of your first appointment where they are indicated. However, not all patients who come to see us actually need an allergy test. Even if your symptoms are typical of allergy, tests are not always needed to make the diagnosis. In other cases no allergy testing is required as it is clear from the history that the symptoms are not allergy related. Guidance will be given. Sometimes tests other than allergy tests are performed, being based on the clinical history.
Please stop anti-histamines at least 3 days prior to your appointment, as they interfere with skin testing. If anti-histamines cannot be stopped, we will still be able to do IgE (blood) testing.
Please take time to think carefully about events surrounding your reaction / symptoms.
Bring along:
• Photos and digital images
• Referral letters
• List of foods / allergens that may have caused a reaction
• A list of your medication (or ideally the medication itself).
Allergies are usually a life long condition. They change with age and this is called the “Allergic March”. Children tend to get eczema, asthma and food allergies. Milk and egg allergies tend to be outgrown, while shellfish and nut allergies tend to persist. Teenagers get hay fever and generally the older you get, the less problematic your allergies become. Or so it used to be. However the pattern has changed over the past few years with more adults developing allergies, and children tending to take longer to out grow the milk and egg allergies of the early years.
Peanuts are legumes (bean family) and unlike the nuts grow on trees. They are different food families, but co-incidentally 50% of peanut allergic children also react to tree nuts and sesame seed. As peanuts are from the legume family, it would be important to ask/test for any reactions to other foods in this group such as peas, beans and lentils.
Skin Prick Testing results would be available by the end of the consultation.
We would have the allergy blood results from the lab within 2-3 days.
Allergy is an acute reaction with reddening, itching and swelling that involves the immune system and which can occasionally be life threatening (anaphylaxis). Intolerance is a non life-threatening reaction. The onset is usually slower in onset and does not involve the immune system. The presentation might be abdominal pain or a feeling of malaise. There are no specific tests that ca be done to test for intolerance. The best advice is elimination of a suspected food/agent for a period of time, then re-intoducing it to see if the symptoms reappear. Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the cows milk sugar lactose.
Skin prick testing
Advantages:
• Lower cost, high sensitivity and rapid results
Limitations:
• May be affected by medication and skin condition.
• Potential to cause adverse reaction.
• Responsiveness depends on age.
• Inconvenient for patient.
Blood testing
Advantages:
• Not interfered with by skin condition or medication such as antihistamines
• Returns quantitative result for future monitoring
• No reaction triggered in patient.
• Reliable testing method.
• Minimal blood sample.
Limitations:
• Higher cost
• Results take a few days.
No. Ezcema is not an allergic condition. However, a consultation with our doctor would help in the manangement of the condition.
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