Allergy Treatment

Allergy is a very common disorder and more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergic diseases. Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic disease in the United States, costing the health care system $18 billion annually. It has been also estimated that allergies cost almost $6 billion annually in workplace productivity.

Allergic rhinitis (inflammation in the nasal area) is the most common allergic disease, affecting at least 20 to 25 percent of the population. In the United States, allergic rhinitis results in 3.5 million lost workdays and 2 million lost school days each year, according to the studythe Allergies and Asthma Proceedings.

Direct health care costs of allergic rhinitis are increasing each year. These costs include money spent on medication ($2.3 billion–including prescription and over-the-counter drugs), visits to the doctor’s office (approximately 16.7 million office visits to health care providers each year are attributed to allergic rhinitis which all together costs $1.1 billion), and medical tests.

Approximately 7% of allergy sufferers have skin allergies as their primary allergy. Approximately 6% of allergy sufferers have food/drug allergies as their primary allergy. Food allergy is more common among children than adults. 90% of all food allergy reactions are cause by 8 foods: milk, soy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. Approximately 4% of allergy sufferers have latex, eye or insect allergies as their primary allergy.