Spring Sucks
As I type away on my computer, my nose is running and my eyes are itching. I know that I'm not actually sick, I've just made the fatal mistake of cracking open a window on a nice day before taking my allergy medicine.
I am not alone in this. Approximately 8% of Americans experience spring allergies from pollen, mold, dust, etc. For reference, the population of America is 328.2 million people, so that would be approximately 26.25 million people suffering from these allergies.
This really got me thinking. With such a huge market that is absolutely captive (as they can't live their day without sneezing constantly if they don't take some medicine), just how much is the allergy market worth worldwide?
The yearly cost for allergies (excluding food allergies) is 18 billion USD!
(https://www.aafa.org/allergy-facts/)
That is insane. That is 18 billion dollars that have to be spent to live a healthy life, talk about capitalism winning out. If you were to include food allergies, you could tack on another 25 billion USD to that total...
What Even Is Allergy Medicine?
There are three common types of allergy medicine (we won't get too technical here):
Corticosteroids
These are sprays or creams that are used to block allergic reactions. Examples include Nasonex spray from Merck or an inhaler for Asthma.
Antihistamines
These accomplish the same thing but are typically taken via pill. Good examples include Claritin or Zyrtec and they function by blocking the Histamine chemicals in our body that triggers allergic reactions.
Decongestants
These work by restricting blood flow to the nose by constricting blood vessels. Examples include Sudafed and Afrin.
There are a few more, but these provide the scope for most of the drugs.
What Companies Are Cashing In?
Let's take a look at the top 10 OTC brands by revenue/year in the US as of 2016.
- Zyrtec D. 62.7 million USD
- Claritin Redtabs. 68.8 million USD
- Allegra D. 84.8 million USD
- Nasacort. 122.7 million USD
- Claritin D. 129.3 million USD
- Benadryl. 150.7 million USD
- Allegra. 221.6 million USD
- Claritin. 238.3 million USD
- Flonase. 332 million USD
- Zyrtec. 347.7 million USD
It appears that the drugs with the letter D in them just also contain a decongestant quality in addition to their usual function
These drugs take advantage of a seasonal issue that is ultimately unavoidable for millions of people. Obviously the economic effect of this is different depending on what type of healthcare and prescription cost your country operates with, but it is a real cash cow in America where the cost of our healthcare system is something that is scoffed at globally.
I have been taking Claritin or Zyrtec for probably 10 years now. I can say they are quality products and you do get what you pay for, it just sucks that it is an unavoidable cost. I would like to stop sneezing, so it is quite needed.
Implications
I am no politician. I am not in a position at this moment to propose a policy that could guarantee allergy medicines for those who are unable to afford it.
With such massive revenues, we are continuing to create multi-billion dollar industries in sectors that people genuinely rely on for their personal health and safety. I do not really have an opinion at this time on the ethics of the situation, but there is a lot of room for charging more than necessary for the products as people rely on them so much.
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Hey, so I was diagnosed with asthma, my doctor actually told me that it was pretty bad and he was like "did you think this was normal" my response was that I thought I was just super out of shape! That was over 5 years ago now and when I first got my inhalers they were great. They helped me whenever I needed them. But what really did the trick was changing my diet. I quit dairy, eggs, basically any and all animal products because I wasn't really eating meat anyway at that point. I haven't touched my inhaler in 4 years. I am actually running with ease. I also had bad eczema but not anymore! Big Pharma and the SAD (standard American diet) are in love. It's disgusting. I don't understand why doctors aren't aware of the effects on the food we put into our bodies. But alas, you should check out the documentary what the health! Going plant-based reverses the effects of diseases, such as diabetes, while also preventing them. It's a win for your body, the animals, and the planet. Happy earth day btw!! ps my dad used to take Claritin for his allergies every day for most of his life, spent lots of money on that and his inhaler because he also had asthma, now he's vegan/plant-based and hasn't needed either in 4 years. SO I wouldn't say they are completely unavoidable!!
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actually, I do know why doctors arent aware.... sick people are more profitable.
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