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Can Allergy Testing Help with Eczema

The connection between allergies and eczema

You may be surprised to hear that there’s a strong connection between eczema and allergies. While two may seem like completely different issues, there’s solid evidence that they’re connected. This has prompted experts to ponder whether allergy testing would help those suffering from eczema.

There’s currently a lot of conversation about the connection between eczema and food allergies. The topic in question is; “does having eczema make developing food allergies more common than those without eczema? Can food allergies cause eczema? Does having one worsen the other?

Evidence suggests that those who suffer from the skin condition are more likely to develop food allergies than those without. Conversely, people who have a food allergy are also more likely to have eczema.

How Allergy Testing can help

The idea is that having an allergy test could help eczema sufferers alleviate their symptoms. Allergy testing looks for the IgE antibody – If you have an allergic reaction, the IgE antibody will be present. This testing can help you to understand if the eczema is a result of a food allergy. 

Identifying and avoiding a food allergy has been proven to help clear up cases of eczema. Most people expect an allergic reaction to cause symptoms such as anaphylaxis and swelling rather than skin conditions, but there’s a wide range of symptoms which can arise from an allergic reaction. Eczema is one of these symptoms. 

If you’re experiencing a bout of eczema, you should first figure out whether something topical could be causing it. Is it a new hygiene product or laundry detergent? Maybe something in the local environment? It doesn’t make sense to get an allergy test until you’ve ruled out all the other possibilities.

A Cure for Eczema?

Research indicates that food allergy testing could lead to alleviating eczema and, when used early in the diagnostic process, it could save lots of time and discomfort. Not to mention it can pinpoint an unknown food allergy that could cause much more serious issues than a skin condition.

Only time will tell if allergy testing can help cure eczema. but it’s exciting to imagine that a cure exists. Especially to those who are regularly dealing with severe cases and aren’t seeing impactful results from traditional treatment. 

While we try to connect the dots between eczema and food allergies — and which comes first — for now, it’s clear that food allergy testing could be the key to the dealing with eczema.

Can Allergy Testing Reduce Asthma Symptoms?

If you’re not familiar with allergies, or asthma, then you might not be aware that there is a small connection between the two. Depending on your viewpoint, this may be good or bad news. Regardless, allergy testing can help asthma sufferers find relief from their chronic symptoms. 

Asthmas link with Allergies

In many cases, an allergy can actually be what causes asthma to develop. For example, if you’re allergic to dust, your body sees the dust particles entering unannounced as an enemy to destroy. This brings about rashes and other kinds of reactions, including lung issues such as coughing and wheezing. All these symptoms are your bodies way of dealing with the perceived threat. 

This formation of allergy-related asthmatic symptoms is named “allergic asthma”. This means the allergic reaction triggers the onset of asthma. From there, the allergen can trigger further asthma attacks.

How can allergy testing help my asthma?

Allergy testing can be quite helpful for those living with allergies. Your asthmatic symptoms can improve (or even dissipate) with proper identification and avoidance of the triggers. Once the body is no longer fighting off allergens as if it were a virus, the symptoms are no longer a problem.

Despite allergies and asthma being treated as separate conditions, there is evidence to suggest that treating one can help alleviate symptoms of the other. Allergic asthma occurs because the body is fighting off the allergen. The lungs and airways then suffer to the point of triggering the asthmatic symptoms. When you identify and avoid the allergen, the lungs and related symptoms are no longer triggered the same way.

Treating an allergy isn’t necessarily a cure for asthma though, as it can be triggered by issues other than an allergy (sometimes asthmatics don’t even have allergies). Still, there is research suggesting that treating allergies can help improve to alleviate asthmatic symptoms. Thus, improving the overall quality of life on both fronts.

Allergies and Asthma aren’t always found together

Some Asthmatics experience allergic asthma, but it isn’t always the case. Approximately 40% of asthmatics in the US don’t experience allergic asthma. It’s often symptoms like rashes or runny eyes when it comes to mild and moderate allergies. Anyone with a history of allergic asthma or who experienced hay fever as a child is more likely to deal with asthmatic reactions later in life.

Neither asthma nor allergies are fun to deal with. But understanding the connection between them and understanding how to deal with any symptoms and their causes can help you make the most out of this less-than-ideal situation. This is excellent news for those who regularly deal with asthma attacks.