Nasal Obstruction at Provocation Experiments in Patients with Hay-Fever

Abstract

For diagnostic purposes in allergic diseases a positive reaction to skin testing is not significative of a clinically manifest hypersensitivity to the offending allergen (Salén and Juhlin-Dannfeldt 1935). The observation has to be correlated to the case-history and should, moreover, be completed by exposure or provocation experiments in order to find out whether the allergy is manifest or latent (Juhlin-Dannfeldt 1950). The reason why this should be made clear is that a hyposensitization in cases of latent allergy involves both an unnecessary strain on the patient and the risk that a latent allergy may become manifest (Kraepelien 1956).