Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for measuring endogenous cytokines in blood. The method accurately measures the cytokines in the blood in the presence of substances that bind the cytokines thereby causing the measurement of the cytokines by conventional methods to give inaccurate results. The present invention also includes the non-invasive measurement of cytokines in biological fluids such as saliva and nasal secretions. Finally, the present invention allows one to monitor the level of cytokines in the blood during treatment of a human or animal with cytokines.