Make an Appointment
Making Appointments
If you would like to make an appointment with the Allergy Specialist please click the button on the right or fill out the form below. Alternatively, telephone the clinic on (09) 376 6185.
Before the Appointment
You will be asked to complete a questionnaire which we would ask you to complete as fully as possible and email, fax or post to the clinic prior to the appointment. You will also be advised to avoid Anti-Histamines for 72 hours before your initial consultation as this could interfere with allergy skin tests which the doctor would carry out.
GP Referral
Your General Practitioner may refer you to the Allergy Clinic. He may send a referral letter direct to the Clinic, or give it to you to bring to the clinic. The Specialist will then report to your doctor on the outcome of your consultation. You may also refer yourself to the Clinic.
What to Bring
Please bring your questionnaire and doctor's referral letter, if these have not previously been sent to the clinic, also any X-rays you may have.
Your Consultation
A full initial consultation can take anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes, usually about 45-60 minutes. Skin Prick Testing will usually be carried out during this time and you will be asked to wait in the waiting room for approximately 15 minutes between tests.
Sometimes patients choose only a partial allergy consultation if a patient desires to see if only certain allergens are causing a problem, such as only airborne inhalants, insects or foods. This would need to be advised at time of making the appointment and less time would be scheduled accordingly.
Additional testing, beyond the 1 hour allocated for an initial consultation, may be required for some patients if extensive testing is required. If delayed hypersensitivity (allergy) is suspected, a Patch Test may be needed. This test is usually read 48 hours and 72 hours after application to the back.
What is the difference between the skin tests done in the Auckland Allergy Clinic & the commercial labs?
The tests done at the AAC are not done by technicians, they are done by Specialists trained in doing Allergy Investigations. The AAC uses fresh (non-commercial) extracts for some food tests, as some commercial food extracts are world-renowned to be unreliable. For some allergy skin tests like bee, wasp and drugs, intradermal testing (which cannot be done at commercial labs) is the accepted method of testing. The tests are also interpreted by specialists. Inaccurate skin prick test result can lead to misdiagnosis, resulting in omission of effective treatment or more seriously, can lead to the wrong treatment being given as immunotherapy.
Skin Prick testing is only one small aid in Diagnosing Allergies. A positive result, only indicate that the individual might have an "immediate hypersensitivity" or Type 1 Allergy. Other types of allergic reactions will have to be tested by the appropriate test eg. Patch Test for Delayed Hypersensitivity Reactions.
Any After Effects to the Skin Prick Testing?
The answer is no in almost all cases. If you get itchy positive skin tests then they usually settle down within about an hour. One in about two hundred people get a lump at the site of the test several hours later. This may take a couple of days to go away.
Fees
Consultant physicians do not charge according to the time taken. You are paying for an assessment and plan of treatment. The standard fee for an Initial Consultation is $350 and normal policy is for payment to be made at the time of the consultation, unless special arrangements are made prior to this. You will be given a receipt for the visit and this is claimable on your medical insurance if you have specialist cover.
The standard fee for a Standard Follow-up Consultation is $150. Long Follow-up Consultation is $200.
Fees for Patch Testing are $750, this includes the total of 3 visits necessary ($250 per visit).
Request for Appointment
You can fill out the form below to request an appointment. We will take your information and make an appointment(s) for you. We will inform you of your appointment by either phone or email.
Your appointment is not official until you have received our confirmed appointment. If you prefer to make your appointment by phone please call (09) 376 6185.