Medication Guidelines Before Allergy Skin Testing
Preparing for allergy skin testing? To ensure the most accurate test results, it’s essential to discontinue certain medications in advance. Review the following guidelines carefully and contact our office if you have questions. Our allergy specialists in Boulder and Louisville are here to help.
As a general rule, stop all oral allergy medications, cold medicines, and sinus medications at least 5 days prior to your skin test appointment. This includes over-the-counter (OTC) medications and herbal supplements that may interfere with results.
Specific Medications: When to Stop
The following is a list of medications that needs to be stopped before skin testing for accurate results. If you have concerns about stopping any them, please contact your primary care physician or call our office.
7-14 Days Before Testing
- Amitryptyline (Elavil)
- Clomipramine (Anafranil)
- Doxepin (Sinequnan)
- Imipramine (Tofranil)
- Trimipramine (Surmontil)
- Amoxapine (Asendin)
- Desipramine (Nupramin)
- Nortiptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl)
- Protriptyline (Vivactil)
- Maprotiline (Ludiomil)
- Mirtazapine (Remeron)
- Trazadone (Desyrel)
- Nefazadone (Serzone)
- Astelin (Azelastin)/Astepro
- Dymista Patanase (Olopatidine)
Please consult with your physician before stopping any of these medications if you take them on a regular basis.
5-7 Days Before Testing
- Claritin (Loratidine)
- Allegra (Fexofenadine)
- Clarinex (Desloratidine)
- Periactin (Cyproheptadine)
- Quercetin
3-4 days prior to Testing
- Actifed, Dimetapp (Brompheniramine)
- Advil PM
- All allergy eye drops OTC and RX (as tolerated)
- Atarax, Vistaril (Hydroxyzine)
- Benadryl (Diphenhydramine)
- Chlortrimetron (Chlorpheniramine)
- Compazine (Prochlorperazine
- Dexchlorpheniamine (Polaramine)
- Nettle (herbal medication)
- Phenergan (Promenthazine)
- Tavist, Antihist (Clemastine)
- Tylenol PM
- Vitamin C
- Xyzal (Levocetirazine)
- Zyrtec (Cetirazine)
1 Day Before Testing
- Accolate (Zafirleukast)
- Aciphex
- Cimetidine (Tagamet)
- Dexilant (Dexlansoprazole)
- Famotidine (Pepcid) & Pepcid Complete
- Kapidex
- Nexium
- Nizatidine (Axid)
- Omeprazole
- Prevacid
- Prilosec (Omeprazole)
- Protonix
- Ranitidine (Zantac)
- Reglan (Metoclopramide)
- Singulair (Montelukast)
- Zegerid
- Zyflo (Zileuton)
Other Classes of Medications that May Affect Test Accuracy
- Anti-anxiety medications
- Sleep Medications (e.g., Tylenol PM)
- Prednisone chronic use (>10mg/day for more than 2 weeks)
- Stomach acid reducers
- Tricyclic antidepressants
Medications You Can Continue
- Asthma inhalers
- Antibiotics
- Dextromethorphan
- Guaifenesin
- Nasal sprays (excluding Astelin, Patanase, Astepro, Dymista)
- Oral contraceptives
- Pseudoephedrine
If you’re unsure whether a specific medication is safe to take before testing, call our office in Boulder or Louisville for guidance.
Still Unsure? Contact Our Allergy Specialists
If you are currently taking an allergy medication and don’t see it listed above, please call our Allergy & Immunology offices in Boulder or Louisville, Colorado. We’ll help you determine whether it’s safe to continue before your allergy test.