Allergy Facts

• An allergy is when your immune system reacts to a foreign substance, called an allergen. This reaction causes specific clinical symptoms. The allergen could be something you eat, inhale into your lungs, inject into your body, or touch.
• An allergic reaction can cause coughing, sneezing, hives, rashes, itchy eyes, a runny nose, swelling, and a scratchy throat. In severe cases, it can cause low blood pressure, breathing trouble, asthma attacks, and even death if not treated promptly and appropriately.
• There is no cure for allergies. You can manage allergies with proper education, prevention, and medical treatment.
• Allergies are among the country’s most common, but overlooked, diseases.

• More than 100 million people in the U.S. experience various types of allergies each year. Common examples include seasonal allergies, eczema, and food allergies.^1,2
• Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults and more than 1 in 4 U.S. children have a seasonal allergy, eczema, or food allergy. ^1,2

• Allergic conditions are one of the most common health issues affecting children in the U.S.³ 
• Each year in the U.S., it is estimated that anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) to food results in 90,000 emergency room visits.⁴

• The most common triggers for anaphylaxis are medicines, food, and insect stings.⁵ Medicines cause most allergy-related deaths.⁶
• Older adults in the U.S. have the highest rates of death due to allergic reactions to medicines, food, or unknown allergens.⁶

• The cost of nasal allergies is between $3 billion and $4 billion each year.⁷
• Food allergies cost about $25 billion each year.⁸

• Indoor and outdoor allergies can lead to sinus swelling/pain, itchy/watery eyes, runny nose, nasal congestion, and sneezing. Airborne allergens can cause seasonal (sometimes called “hay fever”) or perennial (called “constant” “persistent”) allergies.
• Many people with allergies often have more than one type of allergy. The most common indoor/outdoor allergy triggers are: tree pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, mold spores, dust mites, cockroaches, cat and dog dander, and rodent dander.

• In 2021, approximately 81 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever). This equals around 26% (67 million) of adults and 19% (14 million) of children.^1,2
• Seasonal allergic rhinitis is an allergic reaction to pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds. This type of rhinitis occurs mainly when pollen from trees (spring), grasses (summer), and weeds (fall) are in the air.
• In 2021, non-Hispanic Black children and non-Hispanic White children were more likely to have a seasonal allergy than Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian children.²
• The same triggers for indoor/outdoor allergies can also cause eye allergies (allergic conjunctivitis).

Skin allergies include skin inflammation, eczema, hives, chronic hives, and contact allergies. Plants like poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac are the most common skin contact allergy triggers and cause symptoms a few days after exposure. Skin contact with metals (such as nickel), hair dyes, preservatives, fragrances, sunscreens, cockroaches and dust mites, certain foods, and/or latex may also cause skin allergy symptoms.⁹

• In 2021, 8 million children had eczema.²
  • Children ages 6 to 11 are most likely to have eczema.²
  • In 2021, non-Hispanic Black children in the U.S. were more likely to have eczema than children of other races and ethnicities.²
• Chronic hives affect about 1% of the global population.¹⁰
  • Children have higher rates of chronic hives than adults.¹⁰
  • Among people ages 15 and over, females are more likely to have chronic hives than males. ¹⁰
• Contact allergies affect about 1 in 5 people.¹¹
  • Females are more likely to have contact allergies than males.¹¹
  • The most common causes of contact allergies are nickel, certain plants, fragrance, cobalt, and other chemical compounds found in personal care products.¹¹

Nine foods cause most food allergy reactions. They are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nut, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame.

• As of 2021, about 20 million people have food allergies in the U.S.^1,2
  • About 16 million (6.2%) U.S. adults have food allergies.¹
  • About 4 million (5.8%) U.S. children have food allergies.²
• In 2021, 7.6% of non-Hispanic Black children had food allergies, compared to 5.3% of non-Hispanic White children.²
  • Food allergy has increased among U.S. children over the past 20 years, with the greatest increase in Black children.¹²
• Milk is the most common allergen for children, followed by egg and peanut.¹³
• Shellfish is the most common allergen for adults, followed by peanut and tree nut.¹³
• Sesame is a rising food allergy. It impacts an estimated 1 million people in the United States.¹⁴ It was declared a major allergen in the United States in 2021.

• Around 5 to 10% of adverse reactions to drugs are from allergic reactions.¹⁵
• Adverse drug reactions account for 3% to 6% of all hospital admissions worldwide. These reactions can occur in 10 to 15% of hospitalized patients and can result in a long hospital stay with an increased risk of death.¹⁶
• The most commonly reported drug allergy is to penicillin, with up to 10% of people saying they are allergic to this type of drug. However, less than 10% of these people (or less than 1% of the total population) are actually allergic to penicillin drugs when evaluated for these allergies.¹⁷

• About 4.3% of the general population has a latex allergy.¹⁸
• Latex allergy is more common in certain occupations, especially with frequent use and exposure to powdered latex gloves (such as health care and dental workers). Approximately 9.7% of health care workers have a latex allergy.¹⁸

People who have insect allergies are often allergic to stings from bees (such as honeybees and bumble bees), wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, and ants (such as fire ants). Cockroaches and dust mites may also cause nasal or skin allergy symptoms.

• Insect sting allergies affect about 5% of the general population.¹⁹
• Around 72 deaths occur each year in the United States due to insect sting anaphylaxis.²⁰