Allergy Test Screening

These are four different panels, not four sizes of the same one, and the category chart below proves it rather than asking you to take our word for it. Advanced at RM625 carries 54 allergens while Comprehensive at RM580 carries 105, because Advanced is a different assay with a different cost to run. More to the point, no panel here is contained inside another: Advanced carries 9 inhalant allergens where Comprehensive carries 5, and the Malaysian Panel carries 6 moulds where Comprehensive carries 3.

Every panel covers food, inhalant and environmental allergens, and every one is collected from a single blood draw with no fasting. Two columns rather than one, because they are not the same number: each panel also runs one or two marker measures, which are controls rather than allergens. Comprehensive tests 107 items, of which 105 are allergens and 2 are markers. That is why the panel names do not all line up with the allergen count.

This is the laboratory’s own coverage table. Read down a column to see what a panel is weighted towards, and across a row to see which panel carries the most of the thing you care about. Three rows decide most bookings. Pollen and animals appear in any number only on Comprehensive, so hay fever and animal-related symptoms point there. Mould peaks on the Malaysian Panel at 6, which matters in a humid climate and in older buildings. Inhalant peaks on Advanced at 9. A dash means the category is not covered on that panel at all. If you need to confirm one specific food, mite, pollen, mould or animal is on a panel, ask us before booking and we will check the itemised list.

How It Works

1

Message us

Your town, the age of the patient, and what reacts.

2

We confirm the centre

Your closest of 35, its hours and an open slot.

3

One draw

A single blood sample covers every allergen on the panel.

4

A doctor explains it

Report in 5 to 10 working days, then the e-consultation to read it against your history.

Collected at 35 partner centres nationwide and processed by an accredited laboratory under a specialty testing programme. Every report is read by a doctor registered with the Malaysian Medical Council before the e-consultation. Specific IgE results are reported in assay-specific units and classes, so a level from one laboratory is not directly comparable with another.

Specific IgE measured in blood is one of the two standard first-line tests for IgE-mediated allergy, alongside skin prick testing, and the World Allergy Organization position paper sets out how each is used and where each misleads (Ansotegui IJ, et al. World Allergy Organ J. 2020;13(2):100080. doi.org/10.1016/j.waojou.2019.100080). The limitation worth understanding before you book is that a positive specific IgE shows sensitisation, and sensitisation is more common than clinical reaction, so the result is read against history rather than instead of it. Food-specific IgG, which some panels sold as allergy testing measure instead, is a different antibody class and is not diagnostic for allergy: both the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Stapel SO, et al. Allergy. 2008;63(7):793 to 796. doi.org/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2008.01705.x) and the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Carr S, et al. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2012;8(1):12. doi.org/10.1186/1710-1492-8-12) say so explicitly. The four panels here are IgE.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in an allergy test in Malaysia?

A specific IgE blood panel covering food, inhalant and environmental allergens, plus a doctor e-consultation on the report. Four panels are available: Paediatric with 27 allergens at RM390, Malaysian Panel with 35 at RM410, Comprehensive with 105 at RM580 and Advanced with 54 at RM625. Each panel also runs one or two marker measures, which are controls rather than allergens, so the item totals are 28, 36, 107 and 55. All four come from one blood draw with no fasting.

Why does the 54-allergen panel cost more than the 105-allergen one?

Because these are four different panels, not four sizes of the same one, and the laboratory’s category table shows it. Advanced carries 9 inhalant allergens where Comprehensive carries 5, so it is not a cut-down Comprehensive, it is a different assay with a different cost to run. The same is true of the Malaysian Panel, which carries 6 moulds against Comprehensive’s 3. No panel here sits inside another. If you are choosing on breadth alone, Comprehensive is the widest at 105. If you are choosing on a specific category, read the chart.

Which allergy panel should I choose?

Let the category chart decide it. Hay fever, or symptoms around animals, points to Comprehensive, the only panel carrying pollen at 26 and animal allergens at 10. Symptoms in a humid house or an older building point to the Malaysian Panel, which carries 6 moulds, twice what Comprehensive carries. A child from age 2 points to Paediatric, which is weighted to food, mould and pets. Advanced is the one to book when a doctor has asked for that assay, and it carries the most inhalant allergens at 9.

Do I need to fast for an allergy blood test?

No. Specific IgE is not affected by a recent meal, so you can eat and drink normally before the draw. Do tell us about antihistamines and oral steroids at booking: they do not invalidate a blood IgE panel the way they interfere with skin prick testing, but the doctor needs to know what you are taking when reading the report.

Can a blood test tell me for certain what I am allergic to?

It narrows it, and it is read against your history rather than in place of it. A positive specific IgE means sensitisation to that allergen, and sensitisation is more common than actual clinical reaction, so a positive result on a food you eat without trouble is a known and expected finding. That is exactly what the included e-consultation is for.

Is this the same as a food intolerance test?

No. This panel measures IgE, the antibody behind immediate allergic reactions. The food intolerance product measures IgG, which is associated with delayed patterns and is a different question entirely. If your symptoms appear within minutes, you want this one. If they appear hours or days later, message us before booking either.

How long do allergy test results take?

5 to 10 working days from the draw. The e-consultation is scheduled once the report is ready. If any result needs urgent attention we contact you rather than waiting for the scheduled call.

Where can I get an allergy test done?

At any of 35 collection centres across all 13 Malaysian states plus Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, including Petaling Jaya, Klang, Cheras, Johor Bahru, George Town, Ipoh, Kuantan, Seremban, Melaka, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. All four panels are collected at every one of them for the same price.

A specific IgE panel detects sensitisation, sensitisation is not the same as clinical allergy, and a normal result does not rule out all disease. Screening is not a substitute for clinical assessment of an active symptom: if you are currently unwell, or if a reaction is happening now, please seek medical care rather than waiting 5 to 10 working days for a result. This panel does not replace skin prick testing, a supervised oral food challenge or specialist assessment, and it does not image or biopsy anything. Anyone who has had swelling of the lips or throat, wheeze, dizziness or collapse after an exposure needs urgent clinical assessment and a specialist referral. Do not remove foods from your diet, or from a child’s diet, on the basis of a blood result alone, as unsupervised dietary restriction carries nutritional risk. A licensed doctor reviews every report and will advise whether further investigation is needed. Reference ranges and individual results vary, and specific IgE assays are not directly comparable between laboratories. Samples are processed by an accredited laboratory. Please disclose all medication and supplements, including antihistamines and oral steroids, existing medical conditions, pregnancy or possible pregnancy and recent illness before your appointment.