Diagnosis of skin allergy diseases

Abstract

The diagnosis of skin allergy diseases is crucial to treatment and prevention. A complete diagnosis of allergic skin diseases includes the clinical history, skin tests or laboratory markers for specific allergens. Clinical in vitro and in vivo tests are often preformed, the cutaneous test in vivo are especially designed for determining pathogenic allergens leading to immediate and delayed allergic reaction. All the laboratory methods are based on various stages and types of human immune response. Consequently, prior familiarity with their indications, contraindications, precautions and result interpretation is advocated. Advances in awareness and diagnostic procedures may aggravate in the recognition of allergic disease, since detecting some “inappropriate allergens” may define one as a patient. However, as the causes of allergic skin diseases are complicated, sometimes it is difficult to identify the original allergens. Further investigation of allergy triggers and risk factors, such as more specific serologic tests, molecular biologic tests, are under development.