Posted by: spacecanada
« on: March 15, 2018, 03:56:48 PM »Both RAST and skin prick tests have similar rates of false positives. Neither of them is overly accurate. Some allergists prefer one test over the other, but most I know use skin prick testing first because it gives results within 15 minutes, versus several hours (or even days) for RAST testing. Some allergists like to correlate both tests when an allergy is particularly difficult to diagnose, or if someone has sensitive skin that welts up easily from skin pricks, making it more difficult to read.
If you are avoiding something with no reaction history to tat food, your allergist's office may even be able to book a food challenge after the skin prick test, so it is all done on the same day if the skin prick is negative.
If you are avoiding something with no reaction history to tat food, your allergist's office may even be able to book a food challenge after the skin prick test, so it is all done on the same day if the skin prick is negative.