Blocked nose and a wheezy chest that never leave your flat, or a lab result that flagged cockroach when you have never seen one? Cockroach allergen is a known indoor trigger, and its proteins share features with dust mite and shellfish. Our test checks your blood for IgE to cockroach extract and seven single cockroach proteins, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components.
In Europe the main indoor species is the German cockroach. It needs warmth, water and food, so it lives in heated buildings, not outdoors. The larger American cockroach turns up in warm basements, sewers and port areas, and is common in warmer countries.
The allergens come from droppings, saliva, egg cases, shed skins and dead insects. They settle in heavy dust particles in kitchens and under appliances. Some of them, such as Bla g 1 and Bla g 2, are made in the gut and end up in droppings. Others, such as tropomyosin, are muscle proteins from the insect's body.
Typical reports are a blocked or runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes that do not follow the seasons. Cockroach sensitisation has been linked with asthma, especially in children in city housing. Some people notice that symptoms are worse in a particular building, such as a workplace kitchen.
If your symptoms are worse indoors and all year, cockroach is worth checking next to house dust mite, mould and pets.
A positive cockroach extract can mean two quite different things. IgE to Bla g 1, Bla g 2, Bla g 4 or Bla g 5 points to sensitisation to proteins that are typical of cockroaches.
IgE to Per a 7, Per a 6 or Bla g 9 can come from somewhere else. Per a 7 is a tropomyosin and Bla g 9 an arginine kinase. Both protein families are shared with dust mites and with shrimp and other shellfish, and Per a 6 (troponin C) is another muscle protein. In much of northern Europe, where few homes have cockroaches, a cockroach result often follows this pattern. The panel reports shrimp and dust mite tropomyosin too, so you can see the whole picture in one report.
From your finger-prick sample, the lab measures IgE to an American cockroach extract and seven single cockroach proteins, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components. A positive result shows sensitisation, not a confirmed allergy. Your report gives each value a class from Negative to Very high, to talk through with a doctor.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
Yes. Cockroach droppings, saliva and body parts contain allergens that can cause sensitisation, and cockroach sensitisation is linked with indoor asthma. A blood test shows whether you have IgE to cockroach. A doctor can put that into context with your symptoms.
Often because of tropomyosin, a protein shared by cockroaches, dust mites and shellfish. If your IgE points to Per a 7 rather than Bla g 1 or Bla g 2, the source may be mites or shrimp. Your report shows all of these side by side.
Yes. Both carry tropomyosin and arginine kinase, which look alike to the immune system. Sensitisation to one often comes with IgE to the other. Whether that matters for eating shellfish is a question for a doctor.
