Allergy Tests

How To Prepare

Many medicines can affect the results of a skin test. Be sure to tell your doctor about all the nonprescription and prescription medicines you take. You may need to stop taking some medicines, such as some tricyclic antidepressants and antihistamines such as cetirizine (Zyrtec), fexofenadine (Allegra), and loratadine (Claritin), before you have an allergy skin test.

Talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding the need for the test, its risks, how it will be done, or what the results will show. To help you understand the importance of this test, fill out the medical test information form (What is a PDF document?).

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Author:	Bets Davis, MFA	Last Updated: July 2, 2009
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Harold S. Nelson, MD - Allergy and Immunology
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