A physician is likely to compile a medical history of the patient and to ask about symptoms experienced during exercise. Even when an allergy is suspected, a physician will want to rule out other potentially more serious conditions before proceeding with treatment. For example, shortness of breath during exercise could be related to an underlying heart condition, poor athletic conditioning or pulmonary problems rather than an allergy. In such cases, a physician may want to perform a chest x-ray or an echocardiogram (uses sound waves to create pictures of the heart and its vessels) to rule out potential heart ailments or other conditions.

If an allergy diagnosis does appear likely, several tests may be administered to try to pinpoint the allergen responsible for symptoms. Tests may include: 

• Allergy skin tests. A small amount of an allergen is introduced to the patient’s skin to determine if the person is allergic to that allergen.
  

  

• Allergy blood tests. A sample of the patent’s blood is tested for substances that indicate an allergic reaction has occurred to a specific allergen.
  
  
• Food allergy tests. Patients may be asked to avoid (or, in rare cases, to ingest) specific foods according to a timetable to determine if allergic reactions can be avoided.
  
  
• Other related tests. Any number of tests that may be used in diagnosing the causes of allergy-related symptoms, including those to determine lung or nasal function and to rule out other causes of allergy-like symptoms (such as infection).