Allergy testing

I have an irritating chest/bronchial condition (regular cough and phlegm) that might be caused by an allergic reaction to something I'm breathing in.


Wonder if anyone can recommend a good centre or doctor's practice for allergy testing.


Many thanks.

Hi Marco49,

Hope the info below helps.


The gold standard for allergy tests is the skin prick test. It involves exposing the body (in this case a controlled area of the skin) to a suspected allergen via a skin prick. There is always a control marker for this as well. I personally have had this done when I was younger and it is the best way to detect allergies.


I have met and heard an immunologist speak on allergies here in HK at a Hong Kong Nutrition Association talk. His name is Dr Adrian Wu, he is a specialist in immunology and allergies. He is based at the Centre for Allergy & Asthma Centre. He can test you for allergies. http://allergy.hk/index-english.html I have also recommended a few clients to him and they have found him to be very good.


Be aware that there are a few companies claiming that they can test your allergies by blood tests using a test called ELISA. The test is unfortunately not good at identifying allergies and can result in "false" positive readings to foods. This is a real issue if one has to eliminate a great deal of foods identified in this test that your not actually allergic to. This can have a big impact on your diet and overall health due to limiting food choices. Plus the test is very expensive!


Hope you sort out what is going on.

Many thanks hknutritionist. I'll probably set up an appointment.