Allergen-specific IgE testing guided by your history, rather than a scattergun panel that tells you nothing useful.
Referred by a GMC-registered GP, results reviewed by the same doctor
Taken at a partner site near you
Results explained in plain English, not just a number
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Allergy testing is only useful when guided by your history. Testing a broad panel of foods in someone with no suggestive history produces false positives, unnecessary dietary restriction, and no benefit at all.
So the consultation comes first: what happens, how quickly after exposure, how consistently, and how severe. That conversation determines what is worth testing — and sometimes the answer is that testing will not change anything.
Allergen-specific IgE antibodies to the allergens identified from your history, and total IgE as a measure of overall allergic tendency.
Testing can cover inhaled allergens such as pollens, house dust mite, animal dander and moulds, along with common food allergens and insect venom.
Suspected allergy with a clear pattern of reaction, persistent rhinitis, or a previous significant reaction needing clarification.
Included: total IgE, plus allergen-specific IgE testing selected according to your history.
The exact panel is chosen at your consultation rather than sold as a fixed bundle, because the useful test is the one that matches your symptoms.
IgG food intolerance tests are not supported by evidence and we do not offer them.
Consultation to take a proper allergy history and decide what is worth testing, referral to a Randox Health clinic for the sample, then a results review interpreting each result against your symptoms.
Where reactions have been severe, or where the picture is complex, we refer you to an allergy or immunology service instead — that is the right route and we will say so.
No fasting required, and antihistamines do not affect blood testing.
Anyone with a history of anaphylaxis needs specialist immunology assessment rather than blood testing alone, and should carry an adrenaline auto-injector in the meantime.
This is the point everything else depends on. Specific IgE testing shows sensitisation — that your immune system recognises a substance. Plenty of people are sensitised to things they eat and touch with no reaction whatsoever.
Allergy is diagnosed by the history: what happened, how soon, and how consistently. The blood test supports that story or fails to. It cannot tell it on its own.
Cutting out a food because of a positive test alone is how people end up with unnecessarily restricted diets — and, in children, how genuine tolerance is sometimes lost.
Higher IgE levels correlate with a higher probability of genuine reaction, but they do not predict severity. A low-level positive can precede a serious reaction and a high one can be clinically silent.
Nobody can tell you from a blood test how bad your next reaction will be. Any clinic implying otherwise is overselling.
Birch pollen allergy causes positive results to apple, hazelnut, carrot and celery — usually producing only oral itching with raw versions, and no reaction at all when cooked.
House dust mite cross-reacts with shellfish, and latex with banana, avocado and kiwi. A puzzling panel often makes complete sense once the history is heard.
A negative test alongside a convincing history does not close the question. Some genuine allergies are missed, particularly to less common triggers and to substances not on the panel at all.
IgG food intolerance panels have no scientific validity. IgG to a food indicates exposure, not intolerance — it is essentially a record of what you eat.
They routinely return a dozen "positives" and lead to unnecessary and sometimes harmful restriction, particularly in children. Allergy UK, the BSACI and the equivalent bodies internationally all advise against them.
Also without basis: hair analysis, kinesiology, VEGA testing, bioresonance and "leaky gut" panels. We say this plainly because these are marketed hard at exactly the people reading this page.
Skin prick testing and food challenges — which are frequently the more informative tests, and which need specialist supervision.
We also cannot assess an acute reaction. If you are having one now, that is 999.
NHS allergy testing is free where a genuine allergy is suspected, and NHS allergy clinics can do the things we cannot: skin prick testing, supervised food challenges, and immunotherapy.
Anaphylaxis, or any suspected severe allergy, should go through the NHS — including adrenaline auto-injector prescription and training, which needs to be done properly.
Antihistamines are cheap over the counter, and often considerably cheaper than a prescription charge. Pharmacy First can help with hay fever without an appointment.
No — it means you are sensitised. Many people test positive to foods they eat regularly with no problem at all.
Allergy is diagnosed from what actually happens when you are exposed, and the test supports that history rather than replacing it.
Do not cut a food out on the strength of a positive test alone.
No. Higher levels mean a higher probability of a genuine reaction, but they do not predict severity.
A low-level positive can precede a serious reaction, which is why anyone with a history of severe reaction needs specialist assessment regardless of the number.
No, and neither can anyone else — there is no validated blood test for it.
IgG food intolerance panels are not valid. IgG to a food shows you have eaten it, not that you react to it. They generate long lists of "positives" and lead to unnecessary restriction.
Intolerance is identified by structured elimination and reintroduction, ideally with a dietitian.
Different mechanisms entirely, and not covered by allergy testing.
Coeliac disease has its own specific test — and it only works if you are still eating gluten. Lactose intolerance is usually diagnosed by trial of exclusion.
Usually cross-reactivity. Birch pollen allergy produces positives to apple, hazelnut, carrot and celery, generally causing only oral itching with raw food and nothing at all when cooked.
Dust mite cross-reacts with shellfish; latex with banana, avocado and kiwi. A confusing panel usually makes sense once the history is heard.
Not for a blood test — antihistamines do not affect IgE levels.
They do affect skin prick testing, which needs them stopped several days beforehand. Different test, different rule.
No — you need specialist allergy assessment, and it is free on the NHS.
Anyone with a history of anaphylaxis needs an adrenaline auto-injector, training in using it, and a written emergency plan. That is not something to arrange around a blood test.
And if you are having a reaction now — swelling, difficulty breathing, feeling faint — call 999.
Not on a test result alone, and this matters a great deal in children.
Unnecessary exclusion can cause loss of tolerance, making a genuine allergy more likely rather than less — and it risks nutritional gaps during growth.
Children with suspected food allergy should be assessed by a paediatric allergy service, which is free.
No. No fasting, and no need to stop antihistamines.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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