Basic Blood Testing In Inverness:

We offer an extensive range; over 1200, private blood tests including:

• General health and wellness profiles
• Thyroid, hormone and fertility panels
• Vitamin and nutrient analysis
• Inflammatory and immune markers
• Specialist metabolic and cardiovascular screening
• Testosterone & PSA testing with clinical interpretation
• Stockholm 3 DNA prediction Tests for Prostate Cancer

All samples are processed by accredited laboratories for precise and reliable results.

Allergy & Intolerance Testing:

If you suspect an allergy or sensitivity, we provide several targeted options:

• IgE allergy panels – to detect immediate allergic reactions to foods, pollens, dust mites, or animal dander.
• IgG intolerance panels – to identify delayed food reactions often linked to bloating, fatigue, or skin flare-ups.

DNA-based MedCheck analysis – unique to Clinic M, this test reviews your genetics and medication profile to determine how your body reacts to certain drugs and potential allergens.

The ALEX² is a blood test that looks for IgE antibodies to a very large panel of allergens. It’s basically a “big picture” allergy screening test that can identify what someone is sensitised to, without needing skin prick testing.

It’s commonly used in allergy clinics because it gives both a broad overview and some very detailed information about which exact proteins within an allergen someone is reacting to.

What the ALEX Allergy Test Profile Includes

1. Total IgE

This is a general marker showing how “allergy-active” the immune system is overall.

High total IgE can suggest allergy tendency (atopy), but it can also be raised in eczema, asthma, parasites, etc. Some people have normal total IgE and still have strong specific allergies, so it’s useful context, but not diagnostic on its own.

2. Specific IgE to Whole Allergen Extracts

This tests IgE to allergen sources like:

• Pollens (grass, birch, olive, ragweed)
• House dust mites
• Moulds
• Animal dander (cat, dog, horse)
• Foods (milk, egg, nuts, shellfish, wheat, fruits)

This is similar to classic allergy blood testing.

3. Component-Resolved Diagnostics (CRD)

This is the really valuable part.

Instead of just saying “you’re allergic to peanut,” it can tell whether you’re reacting to:

high-risk peanut proteins linked to severe reactions or cross-reactive proteins linked to mild oral allergy symptoms. This helps separate true allergy vs sensitisation, mild pollen cross-reaction vs high anaphylaxis risk:

Examples:

• Peanut: Ara h 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9
• Hazelnut: Cor a 1, 8, 9, 14
• Wheat: Tri a 19 (omega-5 gliadin)

This is massively useful for risk assessment.

4. Cross-Reactivity Markers

ALEX also detects patterns like:

• PR-10 proteins, usually linked to birch pollen cross-reactivity and oral symptoms; often mild: itchy mouth, lip tingling with fruits/nuts
• Profilins, cross-react widely across plants & often cause broad positive results but mild symptoms

Lipid Transfer Proteins (LTPs) These are more serious.

• associated with systemic reactions
• common in Mediterranean-type food allergy patterns

CCD (Cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants) This is an important one:

CCD can cause “false positive-looking” IgE reactions to lots of plants/insects without true clinical allergy. ALEX helps interpret this better.

Why Someone Would Take the ALEX Test?

1. Unclear symptoms

If someone has vague symptoms like:

• bloating
• hives
• eczema flares
• sinus issues
• fatigue (less directly allergy, but patients often suspect it)

ALEX can provide a structured allergy overview.

2. Suspected food allergy

Especially if someone has reactions like:

• lip swelling
• throat itching
• vomiting
• hives
• wheeze
• anaphylaxis-type episodes

ALEX helps identify the likely culprit and severity risk.

3. Severe hayfever or seasonal symptoms

If someone has:

• persistent rhinitis
• itchy eyes
• asthma worsened seasonally

It can identify the responsible pollen(s), which matters for immunotherapy planning.

4. Eczema or asthma with possible allergic triggers

In moderate–severe atopic disease, ALEX can help identify environmental drivers like:

• dust mites
• animal dander
• mould

5. Polyallergy / multiple unexplained reactions

When someone reacts to lots of foods, ALEX helps determine whether it’s:

• multiple real allergies
• or a single pollen-driven cross-reactive syndrome

6. Considering immunotherapy (desensitisation)

If someone wants allergy shots/tablets, medics need to know:

• exactly which allergens are clinically relevant
• whether sensitisation is genuine and significant

ALEX can guide that.

7. When skin prick testing isn’t suitable

ALEX is helpful if someone:

• can’t stop antihistamines
• has severe eczema (skin testing unreliable)
• has dermatographism
• has needle phobia around skin tests
• has high risk of severe reaction

8. To distinguish true allergy vs cross-reactivity. This is a major reason clinicians use it.

Example:

Someone “tests positive” to peanut, hazelnut, birch, apple, carrot…ALEX may show they’re mainly reacting to birch-related PR-10 proteins, meaning:

• oral allergy syndrome
• low anaphylaxis risk
• Whereas someone with Ara h 2 positivity is more likely true peanut allergy risk.

What ALEX Does Not Do

It’s important to say this clearly:

• It does not diagnose allergy on its own
• It diagnoses sensitisation (IgE presence)
• Clinical symptoms + history still matter
• Someone can have a positive IgE and tolerate the food fine.

ALEX is most useful because it:

• screens broadly (hundreds of allergens)
• gives component-level detail
• improves interpretation of “false positives”
• helps assess risk level (mild vs systemic)

The ALEX allergy blood test can be a very helpful way to look for allergy-related antibodies (IgE) to a wide range of foods and environmental triggers, but it does not diagnose an allergy on its own. A “positive” result often means sensitisation (your immune system recognises something) rather than a true allergy that will cause symptoms, and some results can appear positive because of natural cross-reactions between similar proteins (for example, pollen and certain fruits). For this reason, the results need to be interpreted by a qualified clinician alongside your medical history and your real-life symptoms — when you react, how you react, how much you were exposed to, and whether there are other factors involved. The most useful answers come from combining the test pattern with your clinical story, and sometimes this may lead to further tailored advice or, where appropriate, supervised challenge testing.

 

The prices for these tests can be found in the price list brochure for Clinic M or Clinic MSK.