Allergy & Asthma

If your child has been struggling with allergies, you can rely on the expert care provided by the board certified pediatric allergy and asthma specialists at Riley at IU Health. Our allergists can help you and your child reach a correct diagnosis, identify your child’s specific allergy triggers and get you both back to leading a healthy and normal life.

Our doctors are extensively trained in the management and treatment of pediatric allergies. Our team has a kid-friendly approach, and our doctors can provide leading edge diagnostics, treatment and prevention in a manner that is safe and comfortable for children dealing with the challenges of all types of allergic conditions. As clinicians, researchers and educators, our allergists are uniquely qualified to provide the special attention your child needs for the full spectrum of allergic conditions.

We offer a number of reasons to choose Riley at IU Health for your child’s allergy and asthma care:

• Pediatric specialists. Our allergy and asthma doctors are board certified in allergy and in pediatrics. Our doctors have extensive training in working with allergies in the pediatric population. We recognize the unique ways allergic reactions affect children, which helps us take a child-specific approach. Our team often works with children whose allergies may not have been properly managed by other healthcare providers who do not have expertise in pediatric-specific allergies. Indianapolis Monthly has frequently named our allergists as “Top Doctors.”
• Research network. Our Allergy & Asthma Department is part of the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Clinical Network. We are one of a select number of sites across the country with this designation. This gives us access to clinical trials and innovative new research for the treatment of food allergies. Collaborating with the FARE Clinical Network also provides access to the latest evidence-based, advanced treatments and standards for pediatric food allergies.
• Food allergy research programs. Our allergists are actively involved in research for emerging treatments for food allergy, to potentially include both oral and "patch" (transcutaneous) immunotherapy. We are also using new methods of early exposure to allergenic food for babies at risk for food allergies.
• Food challenges. Some allergies, especially food allergies, can go away with time. If your child has a food allergy, we can help determine if the allergy has been outgrown or if it still is causing symptoms. We do this through allergen-specific testing and food challenge tests. Our doctors also work with families to safely introduce allergenic foods to babies who may be at risk of developing a food allergy.
• Peanut allergy registry. We house one of the largest registries of children with peanut allergy. This enables us to detect trends and patterns among children with peanut allergy, which could lead to new opportunities for treatment. We invite all patients with peanut allergy to join this registry.
• Pediatric asthma. Our allergists are involved with asthma at the clinical, community and research level. We utilize special treatments for asthma that focus on treating the immune system and allergic components of asthma. In addition, our doctors have held leadership roles in county and statewide asthma initiatives, including the Indiana Joint Asthma Coalition and The Indiana Plan to Improve Asthma Outcomes.

Our commitment to helping children with allergies does not stop in our practices. Our doctors regularly attend local meetings of parent support groups, including Parents of Children Having Allergies (PoCHA) and Food Allergy Support Indy (FASI). As medical advisors to these groups, our allergists provide support and education to the community. They also advocate within the school system to help educate schools and communities about allergies.