Allergy Weed Panel Screening

This test helps to check whether an individual is allergic to the weeds or not by detection of specific allergen IgE antibodies in the blood sample.

What are weeds and weed allergy:

Weed is the general term for any plant which is considered as a waste in the farm or undesirable plant in a particular situation. It is a plant in the wrong place. Sometimes, cultivation plants can also become weeds or invasive species if they were cultivated in new climates. Thus the category of weeds is ever changing.

Weeds interfere with a large number of human activities. Weeds compete with crop plants for light, nutrients, and water. So, weed control is very important in agriculture for maintaining good levels of crop production. There are so many types of weeds and these can cause allergies, hay fevers, and several other health problems to both humans and animals. In some cases, these weeds may be poisonous.

Weed allergy is seen in people of all ages. Some of the weeds that cause allergies are cocklebur, goosefoot, common pigweed, mugwort, common ragweed, rapeseed. Cold, cough, runny nose, fever, itchy eyes and ears, watery eyes, sneezing, loss of smell, throat infection, phlegm, headache etc are some of the symptoms of weed allergy. Primarily all the weed allergies are caused by the pollens of the specific plant. So when an individual comes in contact or breathes the pollens of the weed plant an allergic reaction occurs.

Antibodies are produced when any foreign substance or virus or bacteria enters into the body. Antibodies are in Y shaped and are of 5 sub-types. They are IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD, IgE. IgE binds to the basophils and mast cells and is seen during allergic reactions.

Why this test is performed:

This test is performed to check or screen whether an individual is allergic to any of the weeds. The doctor may ask you to undergo this test if you are suffering from weed allergy, headache, vomiting, cold, fever, throat infection, sneezing, redness, itching, cough, runny nose, phlegm, itchy eyes, watery eyes, loss of smell etc.

This test doesn’t confirm the type of the weed which is causing allergy. So, to confirm the diagnosis and to check which type of weed is causing allergy, the doctor may recommend you to get a confirmatory weed panel test.

Precautions:

Some medications such as antihistamines may change the test results and hence you are advised to inform all your current medications to the doctor prior to the test.

The test results may be different depending on gender, age, and health conditions. Inform your doctor if you have any other allergies.

Generally, there is no need for medical interventions if test results are normal.

If the test results are more than the normal range then it may indicate that the individual is allergic to one of the weeds.

In case the test results are below or equal to the normal range then it may indicate that the individual is not allergic to the weeds.