This is a blood test that is quick and simple. It measures the amount of allergen specific antibodies in the blood (IgE), which is an indicator of allergic sensitization. As a powerful diagnostic tool, it can test for hundreds of allergic triggers, such as pollen, mold, food, and animal dander and can be performed at any age. This blood test can help your healthcare professional determine if you are allergic, and to what.

There are many benefits to getting this blood test, also called a specific IgE (sIgE) blood test. Unlike a skin-prick test, an allergic sensitization test can be performed on anyone no matter the condition of their skin—even during an eczema flare-up. It can also be performed on someone while currently on medication, including antihistamines. This blood test is also safe to perform on someone who is pregnant. 

Anyone experiencing allergy-like symptoms can receive specific IgE (sIgE) blood testing. For babies and very young children, one blood sample collection is often less traumatic than the several scratches of a skin-prick test (SPT).

Sources such as the Canadian Pediatric Society discourage routine allergy testing prior to food introduction because positive results may be falsely interpreted as an allergy. Such a conclusion could lead to an unnecessary delay in allergenic food introduction—and might cause you to miss the important four-to-six-month window.¹

The only exception may be infants at high risk of peanut allergy, i.e., those with severe eczema and/or egg allergy. In this case early tests such as a specific IgE blood test for peanut may be recommended.¹  Again, talk with your pediatrician to determine the best course of action and learn more by reading our How to Introduce Food Allergens to Children blog.

Typically, it takes a few days to get blood test results back because the blood sample has to be sent to a lab for processing. 

A small sample of blood is drawn and sent to a laboratory for analysis. The results are returned a few days later for your healthcare professional to interpret alongside your medical history and reported symptoms. This combination will help your healthcare professional confirm or rule out a suspected allergy.