Sadly, it is well recognised that allergies are often poorly understood by healthcare professionals and many people feel that they have an uphill battle to diagnosis and support. Whilst allergy services within the NHS are fantastic, we all recognise that waiting times have become longer and longer to see a specialist. Sometimes, even having the referral in the first place is not always easy to access. If you feel that you want to access rapid allergy support and get help to a diagnosis and management, then we will be able to assess you quickly at Dr Helen Allergy.
At Dr Helen Allergy we can arrange private allergy testing and Dr Helen specialises in allergies for children and adults and is an expert in her field. There are two main ways in which we perform allergy testing within the clinic, and this is with either allergy skin prick testing or a blood test.
Allergy skin prick testing is often favoured by patients as this is a quick, cost-effective way of getting answers. As long as an individual is able to stop all antihistamine medication for at least five days before the appointment, allergy testing can then be performed on the day of the consultation. The private allergy skin prick tests take around 10 minutes to carry out and within 15 minutes you will have answers to your allergy questions. Dr Helen will then be able to give specialist allergy advice on what the issues may be for you or your child how to proceed.
If an allergy skin prick test is not possible, or we need additional answers, then a private blood test can be arranged. Very often this can be done on the day. Unlike allergy skin prick tests, the result will not be affected by any medications the person is taking. The private allergy blood test will be sent to Total Doctor’s Laboratory and the results will be available within 3 to 4 days. This is a quicker timeframe than is possible on the NHS and it means you will no longer need to be kept waiting for the help and support which you are probably in desperate need of.
Dr Helen Allergy offers virtual consultations for anyone living in the UK. This is particularly important for individuals living in areas of the country where there are very limited allergy specialists. If you need private allergy tests but are not able to come for a face-to-face appointment with Dr Helen, there are several other options for tests. Dr Helen allergy works with a private allergy testing company who produce Allergy Solutions Test. These test kits will be sent to your home address. Using a small lancet, you will be able to take a fingerprick of blood to fill a small vial. This will then be posted back to the laboratory and analysed against 295 different allergens. This option offers extensive allergy testing, including specialist allergy component tests. Dr Helen will then provide specialist interpretation of the results.
An alternative option is that Dr Helen allergy could ask your GP whether they would be willing to undertake allergy tests for you. Even if they are not, some GP’s would be happy to draw the blood and you could then pay for the private test. This sample of blood from a vein, would be sent to Total Doctor’s Laboratory and Dr Helen will receive the result and arrange a follow up call. Dr Helen allergy is able to discuss both of these options to see which suits your needs.
For more information about all allergy tests, see our Allergy Testing Page.
