An allergist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating allergies. When someone breaks out in hives after eating peanuts, can't stop sneezing around cats, or has trouble breathing during pollen season, an allergist helps figure out what's causing the problem and how to manage it.

Allergists go through years of extra training beyond regular medical school to understand how the immune system sometimes overreacts to harmless things like dust, certain foods, or bee stings. They use special tests, like pricking the skin with tiny amounts of different substances to see which ones cause a reaction, or analyzing blood samples.

Once an allergist identifies what triggers someone's allergies, they can recommend treatments. Sometimes that means avoiding the allergen entirely (like not having a pet rabbit if you're allergic to rabbits). Other times they prescribe medications like antihistamines or inhalers. For serious allergies, they might provide allergy shots that gradually train the immune system to tolerate the allergen better.