Before you decide on an allergy test method that works best for you and your preferences, you need to see what’s out there. It only makes sense, right? If you’ve done research online, you’ve probably heard about a skin prick test and an oral test and maybe even a blood sample test. But what about a hair allergy test? What’s that all about?
How does a hair allergy test work?
There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of information about the option of a hair allergy test online when you go looking. Perhaps you like the fact that a hair allergy test can be done at home, or maybe you just really aren’t comfortable with blood. However, the reason that hair allergy test information can be hard to find is because it isn’t actually a kind of allergy test.
Hair samples are used for testing intolerances. The hair can be used to determine how your body reacts reacted to intolerances in the past and predict how it can react in the future as well. However, intolerances can be measured in more ways than just with blood. That’s what makes the science of hair sample testing work for intolerances in particular.
Allergies vs. Intolerances
Allergies are different and require different kinds of testing. Where the intolerances involve the immune system and the digestive tract, allergies act by creating inflammation as antibodies attack the food allergen. This cannot be detected by hair and must be monitored through a blood sample.
You can also look at skin prick testing (this triggers a physical skin reaction to the allergen that is deposited into the skin) or an oral test (which involves medical equipment being used to monitor live reactions as they are occurring in the body) to diagnose allergies. While skin prick tests don’t have the best track record as far as accuracy for food allergy testing, in particular, they are still used by a lot of clinics. Blood sample testing is thought to be the best testing method, particularly for those who have had severe reactions in the past. Since blood samples are tested in a lab against allergens, there is no chance of a reaction happening during the testing process.
Will there ever be a hair sample test?
You never really know how allergy testing is going to progress in the future, but there isn’t much hope for an allergy test that can use only a hair sample. This simply comes down to monitoring the body’s reaction to allergens (which are different from intolerances). However, you will be able to find science like blood sample testing or even oral testing to develop so that they can be even more advanced in their testing comforts as well as their results.
If you don’t feel that either one of these is right for you, you can also combine the two. Start with oral testing and then follow it up with blood sample testing. Having the double conformation can be really helpful for going you peace of mind, too. See? You already have lots of great options available to get you the results you need.
