How Allergy Testing Helps Travelers Avoid Nasty Surprises

Health & Medical Blog

Food allergies are very dangerous and can be unpredictable when they occur while traveling. Some travelers may believe that they fully understand their allergies before a trip but end up experiencing an unexpected reaction. As a result, it is critical to get allergy testing before each trip.

Different Countries May Prepare Food With Allergic Ingredients

In the US, food companies are required to list the ingredients in their food and to detail if they were prepared with potential allergens. In other countries, the same type of listing may not be necessary—this may be more often in areas with laxer food control, such as many parts of Europe and Africa. And they may use ingredients in ways that may be unpredictable to a traveler.

For example, some countries may use peanuts in recipes that may be surprising. Beyond that, though, some countries may have foods that use ingredients a person has never been exposed to, and to which they may have an allergy. For instance, many types of fruits that are rarely imported to the US may have the potential to be an allergy risk, making testing crucial.

How Allergen Testing Helps

Allergen testing is a diagnostic method that works to check what a person may be allergic to before they experience a reaction. It works by exposing them to a very small amount—usually on the skin in a patch—and seeing how it reacts. If the skin develops a rash, then the allergen tests can read the rash intensity and spread to get a pretty good idea of a person's level of allergy to a food.

They can even focus on items that a person may be exposed to in a specific part of the world. Their centers contain a large number of samples from which they can draw, making it easy for them to provide a person with a full regiment of potential allergen tests. Even better, they can provide treatments that help reverse their reaction and protect them if they get exposed by accident.

This type of process is something that any world traveler may want to go through every time they go to a new country. By fully understanding their range of allergies and how to treat them effectively, it is possible to provide the chance to travel in ease and to know how to react to an allergic reaction that may not have been present during testing, since new allergies can develop at any time.

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