What is an allergy doctor?

Any doctor who can help you with allergies can be your allergy doctor. General physicians develop a special interest in the subject and perform what is required of an allergy doctor. Some hospital specialists also treat allergies in patients that are referred to them. For example, skin specialists may have to look after the skin problems resulting from allergy.

As allergy and the study of the immune system, i.e., immunology, are closely related, your local immunologist can become your allergy doctor to whom you may address your queries. So pediatricians, general practitioners, internists, allergists and pulmonologists – all of them can treat your allergies as well as asthma and can function as your allergy doctor.

Internists and pediatricians have to undergo additional training in immunology and acquire special skills in assessing and treating asthma and allergies before they can work as an allergy doctor or immunologist. They obtain certification when they clear an examination in the specialty area of allergy and immunology. An allergy doctor treats more allergic and asthmatic patients than other kinds of doctors, so naturally they are more experienced in this field.

This assumes added significance as a large percentage of children and a good number of adults with asthma have allergies that trigger asthma symptoms. Identifying and learning to control these allergies are essential for more effective asthma control.

Your family physician may refer you to an allergy doctor to get your allergies examined.

Once your allergies are brought under control, you can cut down on your visits to your allergy doctor as he/she will now keep in touch with your physician to keep your allergies in check.

You can be sure about the success of your allergy doctor if the treatment he or she recommends it does not affect your daily activities, wake you up at night, make you miss your work, cause you to wheeze during strenuous physical activities or dispatch you to the emergency room. If you still have these problems, it is time you seek a second opinion.

To find an allergy doctor, you can start by looking in the white pages of your phone book for your local medical society. They are usually listed as (city name) Medical Society. You can also look in the Yellow Pages of your phone book under Physicians. The physicians will be listed under their specialty area, such as "Allergy & Immunology." It is wise to choose an allergy doctor who is certified by the board.

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