Serum IgE Test: Price, Procedure, Normal Range, & Importance

The Serum IgE Test, or Total IgE Test, checks the level of IgE antibodies in your blood. It helps detect allergies and monitor allergic conditions. This test is quick, requires no special preparation, and is minimally invasive. The Serum IgE test price ranges from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000, depending on the lab and location.

What is an IgE Blood Test?

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is a type of antibody in your immune system, found in small amounts in your blood. This test evaluates the total number of IgE antibodies to detect allergies and, in some cases, parasitic infections. However, it doesn’t identify the specific allergen, which requires an allergen-specific IgE test.

Key Highlights:

• Sample required: Blood (serum)
• Identifies total IgE levels but doesn’t specify the allergen.
• For specific allergens, you’ll need an allergen-specific IgE test.

Why is the Serum IgE Test Important?

A Serum IgE test is crucial for detecting allergies like hay fever, asthma, and chronic rhinosinusitis. It also helps monitor known allergies such as anaphylaxis, allergic rhinitis, and conjunctivitis. This test is useful for identifying parasitic infections and assessing the immune system’s response to allergens.

Common Allergy Symptoms:

• Respiratory issues: stuffy nose, sneezing, wheezing, and coughing.
• Skin reactions: rashes and itching.
• Digestive problems: indigestion, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Others: watery eyes, breathlessness, and fatigue.

Serum IgE Test Price

Serum IgE test price varies depending on lab, location & city. In India, it cost starts from Rs 600 and may go up to Rs 1000. Cost at the some of the popular labs is given in table below. Kindly note that prices at these labs also vary from one city to another.

Lab Name	Cost
Dr Lal pathlabs	Rs 830
Thyrocare technologies	Rs 600
Metropolis Healthcare	Rs 875
SRL Diagnostics	Rs 1150

How to Prepare for a Serum IgE Test?

No special preparation is required for the Serum IgE test. You don’t need to fast or follow any specific instructions before the test. Simply ensure you’re comfortable and ready for a quick blood sample collection.

Serum IgE Test Procedure

The Serum IgE test is quick and simple. A healthcare professional will draw blood from a vein in your arm, which typically takes under 5 minutes. The blood sample will then be tested to check for elevated IgE levels, which may indicate an allergy.

Risks

The test does not involve any major risk. It is similar to any other blood test in which you might get a bruise where the needle was inserted and will experience a little pain when the blood sample is taken.

Serum IgE Test Results

High and Low levels of IgE

If the amount of IgE is more than the recommended threshold, the person is likely to be suffering from an allergy. However, Total IgE test results do not tell about the specific allergy you would be suffering from. A high total IgE level indicates that it is likely that a person has one or more allergies. Allergen-specific IgE level will increase after exposure and then decline over time, thus affecting the total IgE level.

If a person is allergic to a seasonal substance, such as pollen, then both the specific IgE and total IgE would be expected to increase during the time of year when the allergen is present. Here enters the specific allergy test. This test will reveal the specific allergy a person might be suffering from. Ranges of some specific allergens are given below:

The normal range of IgE level

Normal range IgE level can range from 150 to 1,000 UI/ml, but the usually accepted upper limit is between 150 and 300 UI/ml.

Range and Interpretation on the basis of age

IgE test results should be carefully interpreted in the context of a patient’s presentation. High levels of total IgE can occur in allergic conditions, parasitic infection, certain Immune-related problems, and malignancies. The serum IgE test reference range depends on the age of the individual. It ranges from-

1. 0 to 4 kU/L in a newborn
2. 0 to ~148 kU/L in an older child or adult

The result of a specific IgE test is reported for either a grouped allergen or an individual allergen. The table below shows how the results are typically rated and interpreted-

This brings us to an end. I hope the article answered all your questions and cleared all your confusions. You can access and book total IgE test from our page.
Just always remember that “precaution is better than cure”