At the Center for Allergy, Asthma, and Immune Disorders at Hackensack University Medical Center, you can receive comprehensive care — from diagnosis through treatment — including specialized testing and treatment not available at many private allergy practices. Our care team employs the latest scientific and technological methods to diagnose the cause of your symptoms and customize the most effective plan of care to meet your needs. We understand how symptoms of these disorders can interfere with your comfort and well-being, and we do all we can to provide care that gives you the freedom to get back to the things you enjoy.

Nationally Recognized Expertise

In recognition of our commitment to excellence, the Division of Allergy and Immunology earned Joint Commission Accreditation for Disease Specific Care in Asthma — as well as several other national and regional awards for outstanding allergy, asthma, and immunology care. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.

Who We Treat

We provide compassionate, experienced care for adults and children with:

• Asthma, a chronic condition that causes your airways to become inflamed, which can cause coughing, shortness of breath, or wheezing. We care for people with asthma caused by allergies and asthma triggered by exercise or upper respiratory infections.
• Drug allergies, including allergies to anesthetics, antibiotics, anesthesia, aspirin, and insulin, among others.
• Food allergies, including allergies to eggs, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, and soy, among others.
• Atopic dermatitis (eczema), which causes swollen, red, itchy, rough, or scaly skin. We also treat contact dermatitis, which occurs when your skin comes touches a substance that causes an allergic reaction.
• Urticaria (hives), itchy, red bumps (welts) on the surface of the skin. They can be an allergic reaction to food or medicine or may appear without cause.
• Angioedema, which presents as swelling of the lips or other organs.
• Environmental and seasonal allergies (hay fever). Allergic rhinitis, also called hay fever, occurs when allergens or irritants — such as dust, pet dander, molds, or pollens — cause allergy symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, rash, and itchy eyes, nose, or mouth.
• Eosinophilic disorders, which occur when an allergic reaction causes a type of white blood cell called an eosinophil to build up in your body, resulting in chronic inflammation and tissue damage.
• Immune deficiencies. Primary immune deficiency, also called congenital immune deficiency, is present at birth and occurs when your immune system does not work properly and is unable to fight bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, or parasites.
• Sinusitis, inflammation of the lining of the sinuses resulting from an infection.
• Chronic cough (8 weeks or more in adults and 4 weeks or more in children), which may have a number of causes.
• Stinging insect allergies, such as an allergy to bee stings.

Making the Diagnosis

As a hospital-based center, we are able to provide testing that may not be routinely available in private allergy practices. We offer the diagnostic tests you need to identify the cause of your symptoms. Our diagnostic tests include:

• Aggressive food challenges to identify foods you may be allergic to, with the goal of expanding your diet so you can tolerate more foods.
• Comprehensive drug testing, challenges, and desensitization to look for allergies to antibiotics, biologic medications, anesthesia drugs, and chemotherapy drugs, among others. As part of a hospital, we have access to a wide range of drugs to perform these drug tests and challenges.
• Skin and blood tests for environmental and other allergies.
• Pulmonary function testing (spirometry and lung volume testing) and inhalation challenge tests for asthma to see how well your lungs are working.
• Full immunology work-up to determine if an immune deficiency is present.
• Nasal and throat cultures to identify infections.
• Skin biopsies for patients with rashes.
• Patch testing to a wide variety of allergens, including cosmetics and metals, to identify patients with contact dermatitis.

Treating Your Symptoms, Restoring Your Comfort

Once we know what is causing your symptoms — the first step toward feeling better — we match you with a personalized treatment plan to help reduce your symptoms. Our treatments include:

• Prescription and over-the-counter medications for environmental allergies
• Allergy shots, a form of immunotherapy to help your body build up a resistance to allergens
• Biologic therapies for asthma, hives, eczema, nasal polyps, and chronic sinusitis
• Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) for immune deficiencies, given in our infusion center
• Drug desensitization (induction of drug tolerance), a method of safely administering a medication to a patient who is allergic to it
• Oral immunotherapy for peanut allergy, which works by exposing a child to a small amount of peanut so they become less likely to have an allergic reaction if they accidently eat a peanut product

Education is also a powerful tool. Our team provides the guidance you need to help you avoid or eliminate allergy triggers, prevent flare-ups, and manage your condition.

Community Asthma Care

The Center for Allergy, Asthma, and Immune Disorders provides consistent access to asthma screenings and education for people in under-served areas through our Asthma Information Relief (A.I.R.) Express Mobile Care Unit — the A.I.R. Express bus. Our team of nurses uses the bus to visit elementary schools in Bergen County throughout the year to perform asthma screenings.