skin prick test

(noun)

Skin-prick testing is also known as "puncture testing" and "prick testing" because of the series of tiny punctures or pricks made in the patient's skin. Small amounts of suspected allergens or their extracts (pollen, grass, mite proteins, peanut extract, etc.) are introduced to sites on the skin marked with pen or dye.

Related Terms

Examples of skin prick test in the following topics:

  • Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergy

    • For assessing the presence of allergen-specific IgE antibodies, you can use two different methods: a skin prick test or an allergy blood test.
    • Skin testing is also known as "puncture testing" and "prick testing" because of the series of tiny punctures or pricks made in the patient's skin.
    • Interpretation of the results of the skin-prick test is normally done by allergists on a scale of severity, with +/- meaning borderline reactivity and 4+ indicating a severe reaction.
    • Patch testing is used to help ascertain the cause of skin contact allergy (contact dermatitis).
    • Describe how the skin prick test and the allergy blood test work to assess the presence of allergen specific antibodies in an individual

  • Allergies

    • A variety of tests exist to diagnose allergic conditions.
    • Blood tests can be done to look for an allergen-specific IgE.
    • Skin allergy testing is another method for medical diagnosis of allergies through the attempt to provoke a small, controlled, allergic response.
    • A microscopic amount of an allergen (for example, tree pollen) is introduced to a patient's skin by means of either a prick test, which employs a needle or pin to break the skin's surface, or a patch test, where a patch containing the allergen is applied to the skin.
    • Further testing can then be performed in order to identify the specific allergen.

  • Somatosensation: Pressure, Temperature, and Pain

    • Touch is the first sense developed by the body, and the skin is the largest and most complex organ in the somatosensory system.
    • The somatosensory system uses specialized receptor cells in the skin and body to detect changes in the environment.
    • Mechanoreceptors in the skin give us a sense of pressure and texture.
    • There are two types of thermoreceptors that signal temperature changes in our own skin: warm and cold receptors.
    • The first type is a rapidly transmitted signal with a high spatial resolution, called first pain or cutaneous pricking pain.

  • Complete Blood Count

    • A complete blood count (CBC), also known as full blood count (FBC), full blood exam (FBE), or blood panel, is a test panel that gives information about the cells in a patient's blood, as requested by a doctor or other medical professional.
    • A scientist or lab technician performs the requested testing and provides the requesting medical professional with the results of the CBC.
    • Therefore, blood counts are among the most commonly-performed blood tests in medicine as they can provide an overview of a patient's general health status.
    • A phlebotomist collects the sample, drawing the blood into a test tube containing an anticoagulant (EDTA, sometimes citrate) to stop it from clotting.
    • Sometimes the sample is drawn off a finger prick using a Pasteur pipette for immediate processing by an automated counter.

  • Overview of Sensation

    • Touch or somatosensation (tactioception, tactition, or mechanoreception), is a perception resulting from the activation of neural receptors in the skin, including hair follicles, tongue, throat, and mucosa.
    • The touch sense of itching is caused by insect bites or allergies that involve special itch-specific neurons in the skin and spinal cord.
    • Paresthesia is a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of the skin that may result from nerve damage and may be permanent or temporary.

  • Type IV (Delayed Cell-Mediated) Reactions

    • A classic example of delayed type IV hypersensitivity is the Mantoux tuberculin test in which skin induration indicates exposure to tuberculosis.
    • If a person has had a history of a positive tuberculin skin test, or had a recent tuberculin skin test (within one year), another skin test should be used.
    • The Mantoux test (also known as the Mantoux screening test, tuberculin sensitivity test, Pirquet test, or PPD test for purified protein derivative) is a diagnostic tool for tuberculosis.

  • Scrotum

    • The purpose of the scrotum is to provide the testes with a chamber of appropriate temperature for optimal sperm production.
    • The scrotum is a dual-chambered suspended sack of skin and smooth muscle that contains the testes, and is homologous to the labia majora in females.
    • In humans and some other mammals, increased testosterone secretion during puberty causes the darkening of the skin and development of pubic hair on the scrotum.
    • This asymmetry may also allow more effective cooling of the testes.
    • Moving the testes away from the abdomen and increasing the exposed surface area allow a faster dispersion of excess heat.

  • Fungal Skin and Nail Diseases

    • Common fungal skin diseases include athlete's foot, jock itch, and ringworm.
    • Common fungal skin and nail diseases include athlete's foot, jock itch, and ringworm.
    • Athlete's foot causes scaling, flaking, and itching of the affected skin.
    • Athlete's foot can usually be diagnosed by visual inspection of the skin, but where the diagnosis is in doubt direct microscopy of a potassium hydroxide preparation (known as a KOH test) may help rule out other possible causes, such as eczema or psoriasis.
    • Affected areas may appear red, tan, or brown, with flaking, rippling, peeling, or cracking skin.

  • Diagnostic Blood Tests

    • They are also used in drug tests.
    • Although the term blood test is used, most routine tests (except for most hematology) are done on blood plasma instead of blood cells.
    • For these reasons, blood tests are the most commonly-performed medical tests.
    • This vein lies close to the surface of the skin, and there is not a large nerve supply.
    • While the regular glucose test is taken at a certain point in time, the glucose tolerance test involves repeated testing to determine the rate at which glucose is processed by the body.

  • Integration of Signals from Mechanoreceptors

    • Both the upper and lower layers of the skin hold rapidly- and slowly-adapting receptors.
    • Touch receptors are denser in glabrous skin (the type found on human fingertips and lips, for example), which is typically more sensitive and is thicker than hairy skin (4 to 5 mm versus 2 to 3 mm).
    • The relative density of pressure receptors in different locations on the body can be demonstrated experimentally using a two-point discrimination test.
    • In this demonstration, two sharp points, such as two thumbtacks, are brought into contact with the subject's skin (though not hard enough to cause pain or break the skin).
    • The points could then be moved closer and re-tested until the subject reports feeling only one point.