Allergic rhinitis: common, costly, and neglected.

摘要

The cost of allergic rhinitis in the USA is nothing to be sniffed at. According to a report published last week by the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality, in 2005, Americans spent USDollars llbn on doctors' bills, prescription drugs, and other medical care to relieve allergy symptoms such as itchy, watery eyes, stuffy noses, wheezing, coughing, and headaches—almost double that spent in 2000. Some 22 million Americans visited their doctor because of allergy symptoms, with doctors' bills accounting for about a third of allergy costs. The remainder mostly went on prescription drugs, such as the antihistamines loratadine and cetirizine, with an average annual spend of Dollars 520 per person. As the report only focused on allergies to pollen, dust, and animal hair, these soaring costs do not include treatment for allergies caused by other substances, such as the growing phenomenon of food allergies.