If you’ve ever looked at an allergy report and felt like it’s written in code, you’re not alone. A few years ago, I found myself staring at a stack of papers from a diagnostic lab. My sinuses had been staging their annual rebellion, so my doctor suggested an “allergy panel.” The results arrived a week later, full of strange terms like IgE, RAST, ImmunoCAP, Class 2 sensitisation. None of it made immediate sense. Did “moderate sensitisation” mean I was mildly allergic to everything? Was I supposed to avoid peanuts, dust, and life in general? It turns out, millions of Indians are asking the same questions.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), respiratory and food allergies have increased significantly over the past decade, especially in urban areas where pollution, processed food, and changing environments have made allergies more common than ever. Yet, even as testing becomes more accessible, most of us don’t fully understand what those reports are actually saying.