A skin prick test and a blood test are both used alternately to find out if one has a wheat gluten allergy. Wheat allergy is relatively rare and is found in about 1 % of the population. There exist 27 different potential wheat allergens with glutenin being a principal allergen class.
With a skin prick test, the test is administered by exposing skin to various allergens, usually in small doses. The test checks for wheat gluten allergy, and the immunoglobulin attached to cells, in mast cells. Usually, no drugs are taken weeks before the test, to make sure that the system is a clean slate. allergies to gluten are shown if a test site has a hive or an itchy bump on the skin. In some cases, elderly people aren't as successful with these types of tests, when trying to detect a reaction. When tested with a skin prick, allergens will be used from groups of food, animals and household items. Afterwards, the doctor will measure the size of the hive and its meaning. Sometimes tests are inaccurate because false negative reactions occur.
Sometimes, a blood test is just more accurate when measuring the body's response to wheat gluten allergy. This is because immunoglobulin (antibodies) is tested in your bloodstream. A sample of blood is taken and is checked by creating tests for wheat sensitivity. After two weeks, the result can show the type of wheat sensitivity, and the severity.
The patient should also do a test for celiac disease, because some wheat gluten allergy sufferers may often also be celiac, and because gluten is the causative agent of wheat allergy and celiac disease, as well as gluten intolerance or sensitivity (called interchangeably). However, gluten intolerance vs celiac disease vs wheat allergy are quite different in cause and expression. Wheat gluten allergy will have certain symptoms of gluten sensitivity such as bloating of the stomach, abdominal pain, diarrhea, IBS, fatigue and autism. However, more prominent symptoms of wheat allergy are nausea, nasal allergies, asthma, hives, eczema, and migraines. Wheat allergy is usually a rapid reaction to gluten and can be severe and, in rare cases, fatal. The disease will be different from simple gluten sensitivity or intolerance, because it is related to an autoimmune response to wheat which is inherent in the patient. It is interesting to note that there is currently no gluten sensitivity test available because there is no one defined measurement system of damage caused by gluten sensitivity, in contrast to the celiac case.
A blood test for celiac disease, called Celiac Blood Panel, is taken after the patient consumes gluten-containing foods for 2 weeks in a row, and looks at the following factors: total Immunoglobulin A (antibody IgA), IgA antitissue transglutaminase (tTG), and IgA anti-endomysial antibody immunofluorescence (EMA). If IgA is not satisfactory, then an IgG tTG test would also be ordered, as well as one testing anti-gliadin IgG.
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