Apollo Partners, LLC

An allergy occurs when your body’s natural defenses overreact to exposure to a particular substance, treating it as an invader and sending out chemicals to defend against it. While any food can cause an adverse reaction, eight types of food account for about 90 percent of all reactions: Eggs, Milk and Dairy, Peanuts, Tree nuts, Fish, Shellfish, Wheat, Soy, and Sesame.

The allergen-specific IgE antibody test is a blood test used to help diagnose an allergy to a specific substance or substance for a person with acute or chronic allergy-like symptoms. This is especially true if symptoms are recurrent and appear to be tied to triggers, such as exposures to particular foods or environments, and if other family members are known to have allergies.

Carrier screening is a type of genetic test that can tell you whether you carry a gene for certain genetic disorders. Doing it before or during pregnancy allows you to find out your chances of having a child with a genetic disorder. Carrier screening involves testing a saliva sample from the inside of the cheek. Test results can be negative (you do not have the gene) or positive (you do have the gene). Typically, the partner who is most likely to be a carrier is tested first. If test results show that the first partner is not a carrier, then no additional testing is needed. If test results show that the first partner is a carrier, the other partner is tested. Once you have had a carrier screening test for a specific disorder, you do not need to be tested again for that disorder.