Prick test is the classic allergy test in which different materials suspected to cause allergy (food or inhaled substances) come into contact with the patient's skin and prick in the skin is made to exposed the inner layers of the skin to the suspect material.
This test is helpful to search for causes of allergic rhinitis (nose allergy), allergic conjunctivitis (eye allergy) and asthma. It is also helpful to investigate food allergies.
Prick tests for inhaled allergens usually encompass around 16 pricks, 14 of which are different inhaled substances, one is a negative control (solvent of the materials tested), and another is positive control (histamine, a substance which should give a local reaction in every person).
It is important that the patient will not be under the influence of drugs with anti-histamine activity which precludes the cutaneous reaction.
Fifteen minutes later, the allergist examines the skin response: a positive response (which occurs if the patient has specific antibodies against the tested material) is characterized by swelling, redness and itching around the prick.