How to Test for Smoke Allergies

Smoke allergies among people of all ages, genders and ethnicities are extremely common. Smoke allergies typically show up during childhood, but they may not develop until later in life. Smoke allergies can be very debilitating and the symptoms may be protracted. Common signs of a smoke allergy are coughing, irritation of the lungs, shortness of breath, sneezing, runny nose, red/itchy/watery eyes, sinus problems, headache and possibly some skin irritation. If you think you are suffering from smoke allergies, it is important that you get tested right away.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Primary care physician or allergy specialist

1. Talk to your parents, grandparents and other close relatives to put together a detailed family medical history. Medical history is an important part of any allergy diagnosis--as well as for many other important health risks.
2. Create a detailed list of the symptoms you are experiencing. Bring this in with your family medical history. Your doctor will want to see this list when it is time to test for smoke allergies. Be sure to include where you were and what you were doing when symptoms appeared, as well as the duration and severity of them.
3. Schedule a physical exam with your doctor. A routine physical exam is usually the first step in a smoke allergy test, especially if it's been a while since your last check-up.
4. Test for smoke allergies using skin tests. This is the most common allergy test your doctor will perform. A very small amount of a diluted allergen will be injected under your skin to see if it causes any allergic reaction. This is how doctors eliminate different possible triggers and pinpoint the specific substance to which you're allergic.
5. Have a blood test performed. While less commonly used than skin allergy tests, blood tests are very accurate and might be required. Blood tests identify allergies by the presence of antibodies in the blood.
6. Talk to your doctor about treatment options while you're waiting for the results from your smoke allergy test.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid smoke and smoky environments. This is the simplest thing you can do to stop smoke allergies.
• Smoking is proven to have a number of detrimental effects on your health. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your overall health and well being.