How do you generally feel about allergists?

Question

I ask this question because close relatives of mine noticed that their two year old developed a minor rash on her neck after eating her first peanut butter sandwich. They took her to an allergist who diagnosed her with a peanut allergy which, of course, means that she will be unable to eat so many foods that children routinely enjoy. In thinking about it further, it seems to me that in my generation (I'm 45) people knew one or two kids in an entire school who had peanut allergies, and a small handful who had dairy allergies. These days, with every rash after a meal, alarmed parents take their kids to an allergist, who, as sure as rain, diagnoses some sort of food allergy, that will, of course, require his attention for years. Am I completely off base to think that something other than a true diagnosis is often at work here? (I understand that some kids can actually die from a peanut allergy, but wonder if this,and other allergies, are being widely over-diagnosed).

Answer 1

The doctor should have given them a rating of how allergic the two year old is.
Years ago, there were people that could die from nuts and then everyone else.
Now that science is more advanced, they can measure how allergic, if is it anaphylactic or just a rash or something in between.
The thing to remember is that if the allergy is only minor now, like a rash, if the person keeps getting exposed to the cause of the allergy, the allergy could potentially become more severe and eventually deadly. If the person avoids the cause, they could potentially grow out of the allergy.

I know it seems crazy that there are so many more allergic people now than there used to be, but there are so many reasons for it. The foremost is a change in medicine. The drugs (antibiotics and immunizations) that are given to babies and children now are much different than the ones given just 20 years ago. They are loaded with much more chemicals, prolonging the shelf life, but causing a harsher response in the baby/child it is given to, one response being food allergies.
Six percent of the American population has anaphylactic (deadly) allergies as of last year, and that number is growing rapidly.

Answer 2

I think your question can be related to all doctors in general not just allergists. In the time of lawsuits doctors have to be TOO careful when they diagnose so they go the safe way instead of the true diagnosing way. I have some significant health issues and have read and read and read about my issues and my suggestions that seem out of the box for doctors fall on deaf ears.

I think that it's important that your get their 2 year old when she is a couple of years older to get blood testing for the allergies. I have been told that my 7 year old is allergic to penicillan but upon getting a blood test he is fine.

So, how do I feel about allergists? I think they take the safe route like all the other doctors now.