Allergy Testing with klarify.me

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If you follow me on Instagram you might have spotted by stories over the last week or two where I have talked a little about a rather nasty reaction I had to a horsefly bite. I am particularly susceptible to insect bites, but in 2019 and again a few weeks back I have had what I am pretty certain are horse fly bites and had a recurring flare-up of itching and hives around the bite mark. It’s incredibly annoying and has had me researching what I can use to try and deter these little critters over the coming warmer months as I really don’t want to end up as a walking buffet for them!

Allergies

I’ve had hayfever for as many years now; maybe 20 or so and it seems to have changed over the years from spring and summer hayfever to an autumn hayfever when the trees are shedding their leaves. It did ease for a time when I was pregnant with the children, but I am now more susceptible to dust allergies – and have to routinely take antihistamines when hoovering etc as the dust is disturbed and causes me itching and sore eyes.

It has taken trial and error over the years to work out what sets off my allergies and I have often been tempted to undertake a home allergy test to try and get a more definitive answer as to the things that cause me to have a reaction.

Taking a Home Allergy Test

Our bodies change over time and I know that there are things I can’t eat anymore as they trigger a reaction (fresh ice cream is one sadly) and I seem to be more susceptible to horse flies over recent years. Taking a home allergy test can help to provide some answers as to what triggers are for you and can assist you in taking steps to eliminate these things from your everyday.

Once you have a diagnosis based on your allergy test it can help you manage symptoms better and be prepared. Being able to identify the part of the season where pollen is likely to be more of a trigger for you will mean you’ll be much more comfortable and less likely to be caught out without antihistamines or other treatments (I like the Neals Yard face spray for easing summertime symptoms)

Having a diagnosis might help you to identify less obvious triggers, for example, an allergy to birch tree pollen might see apples and celery as a trigger; being armed with the information helps you tailor your approach and make connections where you might not have seen them previously.

Having the allergy test diagnoses also means that if you do speak to your GP you have better information to hand to make better decisions about treatment options.

Empowerment

Understanding your allergies and triggers is empowering; it helps you to better control them and I know from past experiences it can be miserable to not know what is triggering things for you; I have all too many memories of being in an office at work with my eyes itching endlessly and not understanding what it was nor being able to find a solution that worked for me. I now suspect it was dust that was triggering for me in that situation, and if this was the case now I would be far better armed to deal with it.

Taking a test is really easy and there is a helpful guide here to help you understand more about allergies and how the tests work.