In the USA, millions of people are allergic to a variety of substances, and they are looking for effective allergy relief. Dust, pollen, pet dander, food and tiny invisible particles that simply float into your home from large industries are harmful. Allergies cause day-to-day misery for millions, and has a major impact on society in general.
The most important allergy facts and stats are laid out below, which are supported by the best and latest available data, some from the AAAAI.org - American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. This information is taken from those residing in the U.S. only.
1- A huge 20% of the entire population in the U.S. suffer from at least one type of allergic reaction. This number includes those who suffer from asthma. Many experts from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America estimate that one fifth of the population is a low approximate.
2- Over half of the American population test positive to one or more allergens, although many did not realise they had a problem with allergies. Many of those did report minor problems such as coughing, watery eyes and a general feeling of ill-health.
3- Taking into account other major chronic diseases that people suffer from in the U.S. The U.S.A. comes 5th in this rank for allergies. Those suffering from allergies have risen sharply in the last few decades. Some say this is directly linked to industrial growth.
4- The U.S. government spend a massive amount of money tackling the problems of allergy sufferers. The American health care system and businesses pick up the tab for this everyday problem, and cough up nearly $8 Billion every year. This amount rises steadily annually.
5- Most businesses dislike workers taking more days off than they really need too. Employed Americans take between 3.9 and 4.2 million days off work every year because of the horrid symptoms of hay fever, runny nose and streaming eyes. Classic allergy signs.
6- Whether you agree with the effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and warming of our planet or not, does not alter the fact that pollen seasons over the last two decades in the U.S. have mysteriously lengthened by nearly one month - 30 days.
7- One third of children with one parent who suffers from allergies, will go on to develop some form of allergic complaint or asthma. I have not seen any evidence or statistics of hereditary illness among allergy sufferers, but this fact surely indicates that more research is required, especially when you consider the fact that the chances of a child with both allergic parents will develop allergies is even greater at 70%.
8- Food allergies are also at an all time high, and this is non seasonal. 29,000 ambulance/ER calls are registered by operators directly from those suffering from the symptoms of food allergies in kitchens, homes and restaurants all over the U.S.
9- Children diagnosed with a food allergy are nearly 5 times more likely to have allergy symptoms similar to asthma and other various types of allergies. Food allergies in the US. directly impact around 7% of children under the age of three years.
10- Surprisingly, over 14% of Americans firmly believe they have a food allergy problem, but the actual amount of U.S. citizens who are diagnosed with this illness from their doctor is much less, 2% - 5%.
11- This is public enemy number 1. Yes it's our old friend - 'poor indoor air quality', the biggest problem facing every household, whether you know about it, deny it, or simply ignore it. Over 85% of our time involves indoor activity, and most of the population are unaware that they are breathing in stale or unhealthy air every day in their own home. Effective allergy relief for sufferers should always start at home.
12- Indoor air pollution outweighs levels of outdoor pollution by 50 to 1 in many cases. It's quite startling to think that if you are standing in a street with heavy traffic and high car exhaust levels, that your own home air quality is worse than this. In many cases this is true, due to factors such as poor construction methods, dampness, high dust levels, mould, wrong insulation or poor ventilation.
13- One of the best ways to improve your indoor air quality is to invest in a HEPA vacuum cleaner to trap those tiny particles that cause allergy symptoms. Recent tests have proven that many vacuum cleaners emit a certain amount of dust and microbes back into your home while vacuuming, which defeats the whole purpose. If you do suffer from asthma/allergies, you must do a little homework enabling you to select a quality and effective HEPA vacuum cleaner that is completely sealed, and does not throw back dangerous pollutants back into your room.
14- Pets are great to have around the house, and are our best friends. Over 40% of US residents own one or more dogs, and roughly the same percentage have one or more cats. Every home with pets have noticeable amounts of dander, which inevitably leads to allergy symptoms in humans. This means that cleaning up after our pets is important, and has to be done on a regular basis to keep high air quality.
15- Nearly 8% of U.S. citizens have been diagnosed with asthma related illness. More worrying is the high number of children under the age of 5 with asthma. Kids under 5 in the U.S. with asthma, between the early 80's and mid 90's has risen by a huge 170%. These figures are likely to be related to growing poverty, poor housing and high levels of industry pollution emissions.
16- Recent figures suggest that nearly 2 million ER call outs occur every year to those with asthma related problems, and these figures show no sign of slowing down. Furthermore, the percentage of those admitted to hospital for asthma/allergy problems who are young children is estimated at approaching the 50% mark.
17- Sadly, just under 5000 deaths are recorded every year in the U.S. who died directly from asthma alone, but even more alarming is the sheer volume of people who have severe allergy symptoms, such as streaming eyes, bad congestion, sneezing, running nose and coughing - who have 'Non-Allergic Rhinitis' instead is around a third of the entire population. Diagnosed allergic rhinitis affects around 25% of adults, and as many as 35% of children who live in the U.S.
The allergy statistics on this page are somewhat disturbing, especially when we see that children suffer a high proportion of allergy and asthma related illnesses. Thankfully there are several ways we can reduce allergy symptoms at home by cleaning our home the correct way to improve indoor air quality. As we spend most of our time at home, it is the most logical place to start reducing allergens and pollutants so we can enjoy a clean and hygienic home atmosphere.
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