Medications Overview

Preparing for Your Allergy Test

Some medications may interfere with skin testing results, including many common allergy medications such as antihistamines. To ensure accurate skin testing results, please stop antihistamines / indicated medications 5 days before your appointment. However, not all medications used to treat allergies will interfere with testing so not all of them need to be stopped. Below is a list of medications indicating whether they need to be stopped for skin testing.

If the list indicates to stop taking a medication that you have been prescribed, please consult your prescribing physician to see if it is advisable to stop the medication.

Some prescribed medications other than antihistamines may interfere with skin testing, but should not be stopped. If you take one of these your provider will discuss alternative options at your appointment, such as blood testing.

Check the ingredients label on your medication bottles. Store brand/generic medications may have different names on the label, for example alavert = loratadine, and combination products such as “cold and flu” or “cold and sinus” may contain antihistamines.

High dose vitamin C (over 500mg/day) can also interfere with testing so you should stop these 5 days before your appointment. It is not necessary to stop eating foods high in Vitamin C, only to avoid additional supplements greater than 500mg daily, such as Vitamin C tablets, Airborne, and Emergen-C.

This list is not exhaustive. If you have questions about a medication not found on this list please call our office.

Any medicine marked “PM” - Read ingredient list, likely contains antihistamine
Any “cold and flu” or “cold and sinus” medication - Read ingredient list, likely contains antihistamine
Any over the counter sleep aid - Read ingredient list, likely contains antihistamine
Accolate (Zafirlukast) - Continue
Actifed (Triprolidine) - STOP
Advair (Diskus or HFA) (Fluticasone/Salmeterol) - Continue
Aerospan (Flunisolide) - Continue
Afrin (Oxymetazoline) - Continue
Airduo (Fluticasone/Salmeterol) - Continue
Alaway (Ketotifen) - STOP
Albuterol (inhaler or nebulizer solution) - Continue
Allegra or Allegra-D (Fexofenadine) - STOP
Allerclear (Loratadine) - STOP
Allerfex (Fexofenadine) - STOP
Allertec (Cetirizine) - STOP
Alvesco (Ciclesonide) - Continue
Anoro (Umeclidinium) - Continue
Arcapta (Indacaterol) - Continue
Asmanex (Mometasone) - Continue
Astelin / Astepro (Azelastine) - STOP
Atarax (Hydroxyzine) - STOP
Atrovent (Ipratropium) - Continue
Azelastine - STOP
Azmacort (Triamcinolone) - Continue
Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) - STOP
Benzonatate - Continue
Bepreve (Bepotastine) - STOP
Breo (Fluticasone/Vilanterol) - Continue
Breyna (budesonide-formoterol) - Continue
Breztri (Budesonide/Glycopyrrolate/Formoterol) - Continue
Brompheniramine - STOP
Budesonide Nebulizer solution - Continue
Budesonide-Formoterol inhaler - Continue
Carbinoxamine - STOP
Chlor-Trimeton (Chlorpheniramine) - STOP
Claritin or Claritin-D (Loratadine) - STOP
Clarinex (Desloratadine) - STOP
Clemastine - STOP 
Combivent Respimat (Ipratropium) - Continue
Cyproheptadine - STOP
Dexbrompheniramine - STOP
Dextromethorphan - Continue
Dimenhydrinate - STOP
Doxepin - STOP
Doxylamine - STOP
Drixoral - Read ingredient list, likely contains antihistamine
Dulera (Mometasone/Formoterol) - Continue
Duoneb (Budesonide/Albuterol) - Continue
Dymista (Fluticasone/Azelastine) - STOP
Elestat (Epinastine) - STOP
Flonase (Fluticasone) - Continue
Flovent (Diskus or HFA) (Fluticasone) - Continue
Fluticasone (nasal spray or inhaler) - Continue
Foradil (Formoterol) - Continue
Guaifenesin - Continue
Lastacaft (Alcaftadine) - STOP
Meclizine - STOP
Medrol - Continue
Mirtazapine (Remeron) - STOP
Montelukast - Continue
Mucinex (Guaifenesin) - Continue
Nasacort (Triamcinolone) - Continue
Nasarel, Nasalide (Flunisolide) - Continue
Nasonex (Mometasone Furoate) - Continue
Nyquil - STOP
Optivar (Azelastine) - STOP
Oxymetazoline - Continue
Omnaris (Ciclesonide) - Continue
Pataday / Patanol / Patanase (Olopatadine) - STOP
Periactin (Cyproheptadine) - STOP
Phenergan (Promethazine) - STOP
Pheniramine - STOP
Phenylephrine - Continue
Prednisone - Continue
ProAir, Proventil (Albuterol) - Continue
Promethazine (Promethegan) - STOP
Pseudoephedrine - Continue
Pulmicort (Budesonide) - Continue
Q-Nasl (Beclomethasone) - Continue
Quercetin - STOP
QVAR (Beclomethasone) - Continue
Rhinocort (Budesonide) - Continue
Serevent (Salmeterol) - Continue
Singulair (Montelukast) - Continue
Spiriva (Tiotropium) - Continue
Stiolto (Tiotropium) - Continue
Sudafed - STOP
Symbicort (Budesonide/Formoterol) - Continue
Tavist (Clemastine) - STOP
Tessalon Perles - Continue
Trelegy (Fluticasone/Umeclidinium/Vilanterol) - Continue
Triamcinolone (nasal spray) - Continue
Triprolidine - STOP
Tudorza (Aclidinium) - Continue
Unisom - STOP
Ventolin (Albuterol) - Continue
Veramyst (Fluticasone Furoate) - Continue
Vistaril - STOP
Xopenex HFA / Nebulizer solution (Levalbuterol) - Continue
Xyzal (Levocetirizine) - STOP
Zaditor (Ketotifen) - STOP
Zafirlukast - Continue
Zetonna (Ciclesonide) - Continue
Zyflo (Zileuton) - Continue
Zymine (Triprolidine) - STOP
Zyrtec or Zyrtec-D (Cetirizine) - STOP