Eczema that sits on your face, neck and scalp, and flares when you sweat? Malassezia is a yeast that lives on almost everyone's skin, and in some people with atopic eczema the immune system makes IgE to it. Our test checks for IgE sensitisation to four single Malassezia proteins, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, next to mites, pollen and food.
Malassezia is a yeast, a type of fungus, that feeds on skin oil. It is a normal part of the skin of nearly every adult. It is filed under moulds and yeasts on our panel. The lab uses Malassezia sympodialis, one of the species found most often on human skin.
For most people it causes no trouble. In people with atopic eczema, where the skin barrier is weaker, the immune system can start making IgE to Malassezia proteins. Research links this mainly to adults whose eczema is on the head and neck, sometimes called head-and-neck dermatitis.
People with Malassezia sensitisation usually already have atopic eczema. What they describe is the eczema pattern: red, itchy, dry patches on the face, eyelids, neck, scalp and upper chest, often worse with sweat, heat or sport.
Malassezia is also involved in dandruff, seborrhoeic dermatitis and pityriasis versicolor. Those are not IgE allergies, and an IgE test does not diagnose them. Persistent skin problems belong with a doctor or dermatologist.
Because Malassezia lives on everyone, the question is not exposure but how your immune system responds. IgE to Malassezia is rare in people without eczema and fairly common in adults with atopic eczema. A positive result shows sensitisation. It does not tell you how much Malassezia drives your skin, or what treatment fits. That is a conversation for a dermatologist.
Three of the panel proteins look a lot like human proteins. In some people with eczema, IgE to them may also recognise the matching human protein. That is a research finding, not something to read into a single result.
The lab measures IgE to four single proteins from Malassezia sympodialis, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components. There is no whole Malassezia extract on the panel. Each value gets a class from Negative to Very high on the lab report, a pattern to bring to your dermatologist.
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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.
Your immune system can make IgE to Malassezia, and this is fairly common in adults with atopic eczema, especially on the head and neck. A test shows that sensitisation. What it means for your skin is for a dermatologist to judge.
Malassezia is involved in dandruff, seborrhoeic dermatitis and pityriasis versicolor, but those are not IgE allergies. An IgE test does not diagnose them. It only shows whether your blood has IgE to Malassezia proteins.
No. Malassezia is a different yeast. The four markers on the panel are specific Malassezia proteins. A result does not tell you anything about bread, beer or candida.
