High-quality care from expert pulmonary specialists
Our pulmonary specialists focus on every aspect of your lung health. Our doctors and care teams can help with all types of breathing issues, including:
- Allergies: Seasonal allergies (hay fever), food allergies and eczema
- Asthma: General asthma and asthma caused by exercise or harmful air particles in the workplace
- Lung diseases: COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a serious lung disease), pneumonia (lung infection) and lung cancer
Ask our doctors
How can I partner with my doctor to manage my COPD
Hear from our doctors about how to take care of your COPD symptoms and treatments. If you have COPD, our doctors and care teams are here to make sure you get the care you need, when you need it.
Lung health FAQ
Our doctors and care teams are here to help you with your specific lung, allergy and asthma needs. We can help you with:
- Arterial blood gas analysis (ABGs), a special blood test
- Asthma (general asthma or asthma caused by exercise or triggers in the workplace)
- COPD
- Eczema
- Food and allergy testing, to find out what you’re allergic to
- Hay fever (seasonal allergies)
- Hypoxemia, a problem with low oxygen in the blood
- Long-term coughs
- Lung cancer
- Pediatric allergies and pulmonology
- Pneumonia (lung infection)
- Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)
- Pulmonary tests, to see how well your lungs work
- Routine lab tests
- Shots
- Sleep problems, like sleep apnea
- Tuberculosis
- Various lung diseases, and more
Ask your care team what care and services are available in your area.
Pulmonary care focuses on the lungs. The lungs are organs that help us breathe. Our lungs play an important role in helping our bodies work. Optum pulmonologists specialize in lung care.
We also offer pulmonary rehabilitation to help people with chronic (long-term) lung disease breathe easier and improve quality of life.
The immune system helps the body fight illness. Allergies are caused by too much sensitivity of the immune system. This is called hypersensitivity.
You can have hypersensitivity to something in the space where you live that doesn’t cause problems for most people. You can be allergic to:
- Animals
- Dust
- Foods
- Metals
- Pollen
- Other substances
It helps to stay away from your allergy triggers. Optum doctors also offer many types of care to help with allergies, including:
- Allergy drops and other kinds of medicine
- Shots
Your doctor will take the time to get to know you to find the right care plan for you.
Asthma symptoms can vary from person to person, but here are some common signs to look for:
- Chest tightness or pain
- Coughing after physical activity
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
If you suspect you have asthma, it’s important to talk with one of our specialists so they can do tests to find out if you have it.
Our specialists will create a care plan that works for your needs. Your asthma care plan may include:
- Inhaler
- Specialized medicine, like corticosteroids or bronchodilators
- Tips on healthy living, including exercise
COPD is a serious lung disease where airflow from the lungs is blocked.
The 3 common causes of COPD are:
- Smoking
- Air quality in the area you live
- Genetics — the science that looks at traits you inherit or get from your parents at birth, like eye color
Common COPD symptoms include:
- Chest tightness
- Long-term cough
- Lung infections that keep coming back
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
We can help you get the right care for your COPD, which may include:
- Lifestyle changes, such as weight loss or quitting smoking
- Medicine
- Oxygen therapy
- Pulmonary rehabilitation — a specialized program that involves exercise and learning new ways to breath and eat healthy
- Surgery
- Lung transplant
Helpful resources
How to have stronger lungs
Learn ways to keep your lungs healthy so you can breathe easier.
How pulmonary rehab for COPD can help breathing
Do you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? Here's how a rehabilitation program can boost your energy and improve your quality of life.
What to know about allergy symptoms
Get ready to take a deep dive into what causes different types of allergies — and what you can do to feel better.
*Lung, asthma and allergy care services vary by location. Check with your doctor’s office or health plan for specific information.
Optum arranges for or provides medical and other clinical services in accordance with laws in each state it operates. Physicians or providers referenced on this website are to those who are either part of independent practices or to those medical practices managed by or owned, where permitted, by Optum. In all circumstances, physicians and other licensed professionals have complete authority for all medical decision-making and patient care. Optum does not determine or set the methods, standards, or conduct of the practice of medicine or health care provided by any of the practices or their physicians or other licensed professionals.