Medications to Stop Taking Prior to Allergy Testing
Important Information About Allergy Testing
Patients scheduled for allergy testing must stop taking any medications that contain antihistamines for the length of time indicated below:
These medications should be stopped 5 days before testing:
- Alavert
- Allegra
- Cetirizine
- Claritin
- Clarinex
- Desloratadine
- Doxepin
- Fexofenadine
- Levocetirizine
- Loratadine
- Sinequan
- Xyzal
- Zyrtec
These medications should be stopped 3 days before testing:
All over-the-counter cold, sleep and allergy medications, prescribed allergy medications, and certain acid-reflux medications should be stopped 3 days before testing. This includes:
- Amitriptyline
- Antivert
- Astelin
- Astepro
- Atarax
- Benadryl
- Chlorphenamine
- Cimetidine
- Cyproheptadine
- Diphenhydramine
- Elavil
- Extendryl
- Famotidine
- Hydroxyzine
- Lodrane
- Meclizine
- Mirtazapine
- Nalex
- Olopatadine
- Patanase
- Pepcid
- Periactin
- Phenergan
- Polyhistine
- Promethazine
- Q-Dall
- Ranitidine
- Remeron
- Rynatan
- Tagamet
- Vistaril
- Zantac
Do Not Stop These Medications
- Do not stop any inhaled asthma medications or routine medications that treat blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, etc.
Additional Allergy Medication Information
- Please bring with you a complete list of all medications, as well as your pharmacy phone number and street address. We routinely send prescriptions electronically and will need your pharmacy information to ensure accuracy.
- Please keep in mind your initial visit will take 2-3 hours. During the testing procedure, we will be using a marking pen on your back and arms. This may cause your shirt to become stained. We suggest you bring a short sleeved t-shirt to wear after your procedure.
Please note: A parent/legal guardian must accompany any patients under the age of 18 at the time of an initial visit.
If you have any questions about what medications to stop please feel free to call our office at 800.999.1249.