General FAQs

The blood tests we conduct are proven to be effective at predicting sensitivities to the allergens which we tests for. The technology around pollen forecasting is constantly improving, driven in part by the data collected from the Sommar platform. We believe that personalised scores are more helpful and easier to understand than general forecasts.
The science behind our allergy blood tests is proven and backed by peer reviewed research. The NHS uses the same style of tests as us, if you're one of the very few people they're offered to.
If you have an existing medical condition we would recommend that you consult your GP before undertaking an allergen blood test from Sommar.
It is not possible to buy the tests individually without also being a member of the Sommar platform. If you do decide to leave we provide a copy of your blood test results to download at any time in the app.
Sommar's blood allergy tests are specifically targeted at environmental airborne allergens, so if you suffer primarily from hay fever we don't bother testing unnecessarily for food allergens for example. We also test for more environmental allergens compared to other similarly priced tests. Our personalised pollen forecast engine has been developed by the Sommar team and is exclusive to our users.
If our blood test finds that you don’t have allergies then we will refund the cost of your annual or monthly membership, as it wouldn’t be helpful for you. We will not refund the cost of the blood test.

Sommar is currently only available to customers in mainland UK. If you are based outside the UK, or are based in Northern Ireland, and would like to register to be a pre-release member please do get in touch and we'll add you to our testing queue.
The membership includes an allergy blood test as well as access to the Sommar app. The app provides daily forecasts, general allergy advice and recommendations as well as a daily Journal to track your symptoms.
All Sommar plans include a £99 one off cost for the blood test. You can then either choose to pay £7 monthly or £49 annually for your Sommar membership. With the annual plan you save 42%. We have tried to keep the costs as low as possible as the more members we can recruit the better our predictions will become.
You will receive a notification by email once your Sommar kit has dispatched. You will also be able to follow the progress of your order in the Sommar app.
To get the most out of the Sommar service you do need a smartphone. We support both iOS and Android.

Your test results

Once your results have reached our lab you should receive your results in around one week.
We test for 23 of the most common pollen allergens:
Olive, Ryegrass, Alder, Juniper, Oak, Acacia, Bermuda grass, Timothy grass, Birch, Ragweed, Mugwort, Poplar, Johnson grass, Box elder, American Elm, Walnut, London plane, Ash, Mulberry, Prickly saltwort, Common pigweed, Sheep sorrel, Stinging nettle.

We also test for 10 other environmental allergens:
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, Cat dander, Dog dander, Cockroach, German, Cladosporium herbarum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Mouse urine protein, Penicillium notatum, Alternaria alternata

We don't provide sample reports, but if you check out the promotional materials for Sommar you will be able to see the how our daily forecast looks inside the app.

We are not able to accept returns of our test kits. If you haven't returned your test kit then your membership fee can be cancelled within 14 days of signing up.
To update or cancel your membership you can visit the account portal on our website and click the 'billing' menu item.