My son had allergy tests, the skin prick type. They put a minute amount of the substance to be tested, nuts, fur etc onto a tiny needle and just prick the surface of the skin. It doesn't really hurt, he was only four and he didn't cry at all. The skin will show raised red bumps if you are allergic to the substance, it will feel itchy for a while afterwards too. They will do several substances on the same arm at one time, you will probably be at the clinic for several hours while they gauge your skin reactions. I believe that with a patch test, they place the substance underneath a dressing or plaster to cause the same effect. Don't worry about the test, they will monitor you very closely and you shouldn't have any major side effects, the doses are extremely small.
