Where To Get Allergy Tests, RAST Test, Skin Prick Tests in the Tauranga Area

I’m curious about what environmental allergens, and foods I might be allergic too.

My 3 options were:

  1. Buy a do-it-yourself home allergy testing kit which gets sent to Australia for analysis (about $500)
  2. Go to a specialist allergy clinic
  3. Go to a doctor and get a referral through the public health system

The DIY test is too expensive I think, so I discarded that option early on.

When I did a Google search for RAST tests, and allergy testing in Tauranga (including Mount Maunganui and Papamoa) the closest place I could find was The Allergy Centre in Hamilton, which is about 1.5 hours away.

So I ended up doing to the family doctor who then referred me to Pathlab who then gave me a list of 4 places in the Tauranga area where I can get this type of allergy test:

List of where to get a RAST Test a.k.a. “skin prick allergy test” in Tauranga

  1. 1st Ave Medical Centre
    • 16 1st Ave, Tauranga CBD
    • 7.30am – 6.00pm M-F + 7.30am – 12noon Saturday
    • Phone: (07) 577 4511
  2. Papamoa Doctors
    • 26 Gravatt Rd, Fashion Island, Papamoa
    • 8.30am – 4.00pm
    • Phone: (07) 572 3780
  3. Palm Springs Medical Centre
    • 3 Palm Springs Boulevard, Papamoa
    • 8.00am – 12noon
    • Phone: (07) 542 9003
  4. Welcome Bay Medical Centre
    • 2 Awanui Place, Welcome Bay, Tauranga
    • 8.00am – 1.00pm
    • Phone: (07) 544 9642

Commonly you’ll be tested for 18 allergens, and if you make your own appointment each prick will cost you $5, so that’s $90.

Otherwise, if you get a referral from your doctor (for the visitation fee of $35 – $50 of course), the test is free.

The only other thing you need to know is that you need to stop taking oral antihistamines for 3 – 10 days before your skin prick test so your body doesn’t suppress it’s allergic reaction to the substances.

9 thoughts on “Where To Get Allergy Tests, RAST Test, Skin Prick Tests in the Tauranga Area

  1. Hello. I’m curious to know how you got on with your allergy test. Did you find out what you were allergic to?

    • I had mild reactions to grass, dust mites, cats, dogs, pollen, cows milk, and “plantain” which is a strange type of banana not common in NZ.

      I was only surprised by the last two and have since cut back on milk, and I’ve never eaten plantain, so I’m pretty safe there.

      I love my cat too much to get rid of her, and I’ve always hated dogs. Grass and dust are hard to avoid.

  2. A quick update to this article: I have suffered from hay fever for 15 years. For the last 10 years I’ve treated it to nasal spray’s which I took all year round. Each brand I used eventually gave me daily bleeding noses so I was concerned about what I could do next. I went on a diet of meat, vegetables, fruit and eggs (+water) for 30 days and now my hayfever is cured. Hooray! It can be hard avoiding sugar, rice, home baking, but to have no hayfever and more energy is wonderful 🙂

    • So in other words you cut out processed foods including wheat, gluten, dairy and all grains all of which all are the most common allergens. Hard diet to stick too I know from experience but you could try introducing small amounts of individual foods to gauge your reaction.

  3. Hi Sheldon thanks this has been helpful. I’m trying to figure out if my daughter is reacting to something in her diet as the doctors want to take out her tonsils and adenoids but I don’t want to jump to that. You say you did the diet for 30 days, do you continue to stick to it? Or is it like a 30 day cleanse and then a bit less restrictive from there? Thanks for sharing! Erin

    • Hi Erin, yes for going on 2 years now my diet has been Water, Meat, Vegetables, Fruit. And I have since reduced my eggs from 3 eggs per day to 3 eggs per fortnight. Sure I lapse and have chocolate or a piece of cake or a biscuit or an icecream occassionally, but the closer I stick to the diet the better I feel: more energy, certainly no hayfever. It’s a great idea of yours to put your daughter on this diet for 30 days. After that, you can add things back in one at a time and watch for a reaction. For a more comprehensive plan, I got a lot out of this book: “It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways” https://amzn.to/2sTZGYY

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