The 7DROPS at-home allergy and food intolerance test kit is suitable for all age groups. However, to register your account, you must be 18 years or above. For more specific information about the testing of children and minors, please refer to the instructions for use.
The UK has one of the highest allergy prevalence rates in the world: Every year, more than 21 million people in the UK experience allergy symptoms such as sneezing, itchy, red, and irritated eyes, skin rashes, a blocked or runny nose, congestion, shortness of breath, fatigue, and headaches. In many cases, people suffer from allergies without knowing the cause of their symptoms. There are more well-known allergen triggers such as pollen and pet dander, but also more unknown triggers such as molds or certain foods.
If you are experiencing symptoms like those listed above, you might be suffering from an allergy. Similarly, symptoms like nausea, stomach pain, headaches, bloating, diarrhea, headaches, and irritability might be caused by a food intolerance to foods that are part of your diet.
The 7DROPS kit is the most comprehensive at-home allergy and food intolerance test on the market and will give you a near complete picture of your sensitization status.
If you are looking to confirm previous allergy test and/or food intolerance test results, see if your IgE and/or IgG levels have decreased over time; or if you are looking to get tested for allergies and food intolerances for the first time before you fix an appointment with a specialist to discuss therapy, 7DROPS is the most reliable, comprehensive, and scientifically backed option for you.
The 7DROPS at-home test kits can be purchased exclusively through our online shop.
No, you do not need to have a prescription to take a 7DROPS test.
At the specialist’s office, a skin prick test is usually carried out first, in which various allergen extracts are applied to the forearm and the affected skin areas are scratched, which some patients find unpleasant – especially if a reaction occurs. In addition, the doctor must pre-select the allergens to be tested. After all, there is only limited skin surface available for testing.
Sometimes a blood test is done in combination with the skin prick test, but again only for a limited number of potential triggers. In both cases, allergen extracts are used that cannot be standardised. This can lead to false-positive results, causing the patient to integrate unnecessary restrictions, e.g. with regard to diet, into their daily routine.
The 7DROPS allergy test is a so-called multiplex blood test that can test almost 300 allergy triggers at once with only one blood sample in one test run. Patients who would like to test a wide range of triggers (e.g. various pollens, animal allergens, food, mould, etc.) at once will find the right solution here. In addition, due to the use of molecular allergens in the test procedure, the 7DROPS allergy test provides a lot of useful additional information that you don’t get with the classic skin test, such as:
- Complete mapping of possible cross-allergies
- Risk assessment of the severity of allergic symptoms
- Individualised dietary recommendations for food allergies
- Information on treatment options (e.g. “Is immunotherapy an option for me?”).
Our lab needs 500 µl blood for the analysis. There are two lines on the sample tube – please use the top line as an indicator:
For shipping from the laboratory to our customers and for return shipping from our customers to the laboratory, we work together with Royal Mail. Your silver return envelope is pre-paid under the flap of your 7DROPS kit. For the return shipment, please place your sample tube (packed in the transport tube) in this return envelope and send it back through the mail.
The 7DROPS allergy test measures the sensitisation status of patients through an in vitro multiplex test procedure. The test results show the measurement of total IgE (tIgE). This value indicates whether an allergy is likely, possible, or unlikely. The measurement of the specific IgE (sIgE) against 295 allergen extracts and molecular allergens gives a detailed overview of the possible triggers of the allergic symptoms.
A final diagnosis (using the test results) can only be made by a specialist.
The 7DROPS food intolerance test measures IgG-based food intolerances through an in vitro multiplex testing procedure. The test results show the measurement of specific IgG (IgG) against 286 food antigens from 13 different food groups.
Note: We cannot test intolerances based on an enzyme deficiency (for example, lactose intolerance, where a person’s intestines do not produce enough of the enzyme lactase) by our method. Other examples: Gluten intolerance and histamine intolerance based on enzyme deficiencies.
There are different forms of food intolerance:
- Lack of enzymes: The most common cause of food intolerance. The best known example of this form is probably lactose intolerance, where a person’s intestines do not produce enough lactase. Lactase is an enzyme that is needed for the processing of milk sugar in the body. Studies have shown that worldwide only about 35% of all people tolerate milk sugar (= lactose) well after the age of seven or eight. Gluten intolerance and histamine intolerance also belong to this form of food intolerance.
- Caused by the immune system: In this form of food intolerance, the immune system produces antibodies against certain foods. Common triggers include cereals containing gluten, caffeine, processed meats, dried fruits, pickled foods, canned vegetables and foods high in fructose such as honey and fruit. Elevated IgG antibody levels to specific foods can indicate food intolerance.
With 7DROPS you can detect food intolerances caused by the immune system by means of a blood test that tests IgG antibodies of classes 1-4 against 286 foods from 13 different food groups.
Each 7DROPS test kit is photographed as it is assembled to ensure that no parts are missing before it is sent to our customers. It is very unlikely that you will receive an incomplete test kit. If you do receive an incomplete test kit, please contact our customer service team at [email protected] for a replacement.
If you have problems taking the blood sample, we recommend watching our instruction video or reading the written instructions.
Please use only the lancets provided in your 7DROPS test kit to perform the finger prick. Do not use household utensils such as knives, scissors, or other sharp objects. The use of unapproved utensils is not sterile and can cause serious injury.
We would also like to draw your attention to a medical condition called “vasovagal syncope”, which can occur at the sight of blood and cause fainting. The loss of consciousness is caused by a momentary lack of blood in the brain and clears up on its own. Patients who have a history of fainting should ideally not take their own blood sample.
If you have any further questions, please contact our customer support at [email protected].
In our tutorial video, we ask our customers to send their freshly taken blood sample back to our laboratory as soon as possible. Unfortunately, a blood sample can only be analysed for a limited period of time. The longer you wait to send back your blood sample, the more difficult it will be for our laboratory to evaluate your sample. If too much time elapses between the collection of the blood sample and its arrival in our laboratory, we might not be able to process your blood sample at all because it will fail the initial quality check.
For this reason, we recommend that you send the blood sample to our laboratory on the day of collection.
After you have placed the return envelope in the post with your sample, it will be sent to our certified laboratory for processing and analysis. Once your sample arrives at our lab, it will be checked for possible damage and whether there is enough blood for the desired test.
Once your sample has been approved for analysis, it is processed and your results are produced. Your results go through a quality management process before you can access them through our secure platform.
You can track your sample using the tracking number provided on the shipping label. If there has been no action in tracking your sample for 5 or more business days, please contact our customer service team at [email protected] for assistance.
Your lab report should be available within approximately 10 business days of returning your sample to our lab. Unfortunately, we cannot rule out unforeseen delays due to postal delivery issues.
We know that the quality of our products and services defines our company and our relationship with our customers. If you have any questions about the status of your sample, please email our customer service team at [email protected].
In addition to your patient information, the laboratory report contains a summary of the detectable sensitisations in your blood.
The first part of the summary shows the measured IgE concentration on a spectrum from “negative or uncertain” to “very high IgE level” and is broken down by allergen group (i.e. pollen, mites, insect venoms, etc.). The number of allergen sources tested is also listed. The IgE concentration for individual allergens is given in the unit of measurement kUA/L.
The results are divided into 5 reference ranges:
- < 0.3 kUA/L: negative – allergy symptoms are unlikely.
- 0.3 – 1 kUA/L: low IgE level – the risk for allergy symptoms is low.
- 1 – 5 kUA/L: moderate IgE level – the risk for allergy symptoms is moderate.
- 5 – 15 kUA/L: high IgE level – The risk for allergy symptoms is high.
- > 15 kUA/L : very high IgE level – The risk for allergy symptoms is very high.
The second part will give you a full summary of all your sensitisations, possible symptoms, allergens and their sources, as well as the treatment options available for you to discuss with your allergist.
You can see what your lab report may look like here.
In addition to your patient information, the laboratory report contains a summary of the measured IgG levels in your blood.
The first part of the summary shows the measured IgG concentration on a spectrum from “low IgG level” to “high IgG level” and is broken down by food group (i.e. milk and eggs, meat, fish and seafood, etc.). The number of foods tested is also listed. The IgG concentration for individual food antigens is listed in µg/ml.
The results are divided into 3 reference ranges:
- 0 – 9.99 µg/ml: low IgG level – risk of intolerance symptoms is low.
- 10 – 19.99 µg/ml: medium IgG level – the risk for intolerance symptoms is medium.
- ≥ 20 µg/ml: high IgG level – The risk for intolerance symptoms is high.
The second part gives you a complete overview of possible food intolerances, common symptoms, foods and dishes that contain the food antigen in question, and available alternatives for foods you may be intolerant to.
You can see what your lab report may look like here.
The 7DROPS allergy test includes 295 allergens (117 allergen extracts and 178 molecular allergens). The entire test panel covers almost 100% of the globally relevant allergens.
A complete list of all allergens can be found here.
The 7DROPS food intolerance test includes 286 food antigens from 13 different food groups and covers basic as well as novel foods.
A complete list of all food antigens can be found here.
Your test result will be made available to you digitally via your 7DROPS user profile. You also have the option of downloading a long version of the test result as a PDF. This PDF includes the full lab report, which you can present to an allergist or dietitian for a full diagnosis, if necessary, to discuss the results and discuss therapeutic measures such as medication, immunotherapy, lifestyle changes or an individual diet plan. We strongly discourage self-medication based on the 7DROPS test results.
Our goal for 7DROPS is clear: we want to offer allergy and food intolerance tests that are better, more efficient and easier to use than our competitors’ products.
As a global leader in immunodiagnostics, our methods are based on the latest science, coupled with cutting-edge technology. Our sole focus is to provide flexible, reliable and affordable allergy testing and sensitisation profiling for all patients.
Current allergy and intolerance diagnostics often require patients to undergo unpleasant procedures (e.g. skin prick tests) or unscientific methods (e.g. testing hair or nail samples). Most other tests on the market only cover a fraction of the allergen and food antigen panel we offer. For example, our allergy test tests up to 7.5 times more allergens than similar products on the market – that’s 85% more than the market norm.
There are several reasons why a test may be negative even though a patient believes they have allergies.
Only about 25% of patients are sensitised to certain allergens. About 30% of the samples we test are negative.
If a patient avoids an allergen for a long period of time, their sIgE level will naturally decrease and the allergen will no longer be detectable in their blood sample. If an allergy test was performed several years ago, it is possible that sensitisation patterns have changed since then.
If the suspected “allergy” trigger is a food (e.g. cow’s milk), it is also possible that patients are suffering from a food intolerance (IgG-mediated, which we measure with the 7DROPS Food Intolerance Test) and not a true food allergy (IgE-mediated, which we measure with the 7DROPS Allergy Test).
Some supposed “allergy” symptoms (e.g. dry, itchy eyes) can be caused by other triggers or irritants.
If an allergy test was carried out several years ago and you have strictly avoided the allergen since then, the associated IgE antibodies can no longer be detected in your blood sample.
Furthermore, it is also possible to outgrow a food allergy. However, this mostly concerns small children who are sensitised to milk and/or egg.
If you have any questions that are not covered by this FAQ, please contact our customer service at [email protected].