Common Allergies Center

Approximately 50 million people in the United States suffer from allergies caused by everyday exposures to agents such as dust mites, cat dander, and pollens. Agents encountered by workers can also cause allergic problems such as asthma, nasal and sinus allergies, hives, and even severe anaphylactic reactions. Examples of these work-related agents include animal proteins, enzymes, flour, natural rubber latex, and certain reactive chemicals.

Asthma is a disease that affects the lungs. It is one of the most common long-term diseases of children. It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. Asthma can be controlled by following a medical management plan and by avoiding contact with environmental “triggers,” such as cockroaches, dust mites, furry pets, mold, tobacco smoke, and certain chemicals.

According to the latest information available from the American Lung Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):

Allergy
• Allergies affect more than 50 million people in the United States.
• Pollen allergy (hay fever or allergic rhinitis) affects nearly 10 percent of the people in the United States (26 million people), not including those with asthma.
• Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States.
• Urticaria (hives; raised areas of reddened skin that become itchy) and angioedema (swelling of throat tissues) together affect approximately 10 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population at some time in their lives.
• Chronic sinusitis, most often caused by allergies, affects approximately 38 million people in the United States.

Asthma
• Approximately 20.3 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with asthma, with at least 6 million of them children under the age of 18.
• Asthma is the leading, serious, chronic illness among children in the United States.
• Asthma accounts for 14 million absences from school each year.
• Asthma is the third-ranking cause of childhood hospitalizations under the age of 15.