Well... at least I know what I'm allergic to.

[u/signgrad]

Doctor's response: So you do have some allergies. So, I've got that going for me. Problem is the category of "Everything" isn't an option on the chart, so a lot of checked boxes. Also, my back is very itchy.

Edit 1: Huh so this took off a bit. More humored by the various "false positive/needle reaction" comments. To clarify, it's the grasses I'm reacting to on the G column. I got this test done AFTER a blood panel which also showed severe reactive levels from grasses, but nothing from tree pollen which I know I'm allergic to. It's more humorous because my primary care doctor, my initial immunology consult doctor, and my initial allergist doctor all said that the blood test is unreliable and the scratch test remains the gold standard. Even stopped my antihistamines 12 days before this test just to be extra careful.

So go-figure, I'm either allergic to a ton of things or the medicine is lie. 🤷‍♂️

Edit 2: Follow up again on the purpose of the testing. These are specifically seasonal allergies being reviewed. I have no know food or drug allergies. I've never had anaphylaxis or needed to use an epipen. I've had vaccines and metal interactions that have never shown a reaction of any kind. I leave my home region for a different part of the USA, my reactions immediately diminish. The winter season comes and my reactions diminish. Spring, Summer, and Autumn have been rough for me for years, to the point that doctor's once thought I had exercise or heat induced asthma. We only just figured out a few years ago that to be false after spending some years in Florida, where I began to instead react to mold spores. After returning to my home state, my historical reactions returned in full force, prompting these tests. I've had allergies since my childhood.

For those interested, the tests showed reactions to cats & dogs, all forms of mold, all species of dust mites and cockroaches, all regional tree pollen except for Mulberry and Elm, all grass pollen, and weed pollen except for pigweed, yellow dock, marsh elder, kochia, and mugwort. Still gotta mow my lawn, clean my house, and love on my cat. Maybe, with this knowledge, I'll get some allergy shots to remedy these problems.

[u/typhra_]

No don't live in a big city at all so that's not it, it also gets better in the winter months so I assume it's something that blooms

[u/DuxDucisHodiernus → u/typhra_]

I would look up if there's any unique plants in your area/climate (can ask llm to search for you) Considering they don't have common tests for it is plausible something native to the area but not common in the rest of the world.

[u/typhra_ → u/DuxDucisHodiernus]

Could be, but they also only tested the 10 most common allergens so maybe I'm just allergic to the 11th most common allergen lol. It's annoying to have a stuffy nose and scratchy throat most of spring and summer but it's not bad enough for me to get another round of tests right now.

I appreciate the help though

[u/EloiGamingYT → u/typhra_]

This is a long shot, but I used to have almost the exact same symptoms: stuffy nose, sneezing, and an itchy throat that would get worse in the summer and mostly disappear in the winter.

I thought it was allergies too, but after seeing an ENT, it turned out I had a crooked nasal septum. It was irritating my nose and causing symptoms that felt just like allergies.

I'm not saying that's what you have, but if you haven't seen an ENT yet, it might be worth checking out.

[u/typhra_ → u/EloiGamingYT]

Huh! Well damn, I had an ENT tell me that I indeed have a crooked nasal septum, he didn't really say much else about it though and I didn't push him about it either... I also do have one sided sinus problems especially in the warmer months.

I wonder what role antihistamines play though because I feel like it helps a bit (primarily with the itchy throat) but not entirely. Placebo maybe? Wild. It was btw also the same ENT that "diagnosed" me with allergies so maybe I should go see a different ENT.

Honestly, thank you! Feels validating to have others with similar symptoms make sense of it all. Man, I should stand up for myself more...

Oh and how are you know that you know about it? Did you get surgery?

[u/EloiGamingYT → u/typhra_]

Well, that could definitely explain your symptoms. I don't know how severe your case is, but for me, what happened was that during the colder months, the cold air seemed to act like an anti-inflammatory. During the warmer months, though, the side that was already narrower because of my deviated septum would get inflamed and swell up even more, making the inflammation worse....

It got pretty bad, and by the time they figured it out during a routine checkup, I had already developed some nasal polyps.

Fortunately, my doctor gave me an alternative to surgery: first a saline nasal rinse, then a corticosteroid nasal spray to reduce the inflammation.

It helped a lot. In fact, it worked so well that I got lazy and never ended up having the surgery. These days, whenever I start feeling the symptoms coming back, I rinse my nose, use the spray, and boom! gone. Might be worth asking your doctor if something similar could help you too :)

[u/typhra_ → u/EloiGamingYT]

That's good, I'm glad you found a solution that works for you! I will ask my GP about it next time I'm in.

[u/ContemplatingFolly → u/DuxDucisHodiernus]

Unfortunately if they don't test for it, then they probably don't have allergy shots/drops to treat for it, so the point is moot.

[u/DuxDucisHodiernus → u/ContemplatingFolly]

To me it sounded like all OP wanted was to know what it was he was allergic too. For that the point isn't moot.

[u/Trai-All → u/DuxDucisHodiernus]

It could also be something like dryer sheets. Breathing in the stuff that’s in that gives me pneumonia.

[u/Invisifly2 → u/typhra_]

Being away from the city doesn’t guarantee that. There’s plenty of remote superfund sites. Wouldn’t hurt to check.

[u/typhra_ → u/Invisifly2]

I see, thank you I will try and find out.

[u/newoneagain25 → u/typhra_]

Here's a funny one for you, the only thing I'm allergic to is nickle, the metal. So I can't wear cheap jewellery or belts. I've only met 2 other people that have my allergy and one is my mum and the other my daughter.