Survey says! Seasonal allergies are no joke!

By: Gabbi Di Marino - content manager and fellow allergy sufferer

A few months ago, we sent out a survey to our dedicated community members and some helpful folks over at Surveymonkey. Why? To help us get a closer, more personal look at life with seasonal allergies is really like. The survey was a simple, relatively short questionnaire asking the participants about the severity of their symptoms and how they manage their symptoms (you know, typical seasonal allergy stuff). The eye-opening insights we got were super helpful for broadening our understanding of hay fever, but we didn’t want to keep the results to ourselves. We wanted everyone to be able to learn from them, which is exactly why I’ll be breaking down the essential parts of the survey! 

You’re not alone - many of the respondents had moderate to severe symptoms! 

Of the 237 respondents for the survey, 77% of them classified their allergy symptoms as being moderate to severe - that’s a ton of people dealing with day-ruining conditions that can’t be ignored. The most common symptoms reported were sneezing, itchy and watery eyes, runny nose, congestion, itchy nose, and sinus headaches, all the symptoms that make life miserable. 

Another interesting finding was the time of year symptoms were most prevalent. It turns out spring and fall were the most misery-causing seasons for the respondents, with only 66 individuals reporting symptoms year-round. That probably means that many of the participants have allergies to the fall allergen ragweed and the spring allergen of grass pollen (if you want to learn more about what allergens to look out for during the year, check out this blog post). And with climate change making these seasons prolonged and more intense, we can only expect symptoms to get worse! 

Over-the-counter allergy meds aren’t cutting it on their own! 

With OTC medications and corticosteroids being the most common form of treatment that allergy sufferers cling to, it’s pretty disheartening to learn that those with moderate to severe symptoms, or most of our respondents, did not get relief from just one method alone. Instead, they had to use a combination of treatments. Some turn to mix their OTC of choice with natural remedies like nasal rinses, while others turn to prescription medications and immunotherapy. Our respondents also reported spending upwards of $250 on OTC medication at the low end of the spectrum, and those who have to combine methods reported spending an additional $500 annually! And that isn’t including those who turn to other, more expensive forms of treatment like immunotherapy.  

This news, unfortunately, isn’t new to us. Based on this survey by Allergies in America, 66% of allergy sufferers aren’t satisfied with how their medications are working. This means that many of those with seasonal allergies aren’t getting the relief they need to live their lives! Because of this, most respondents reported that rapid relief was the most critical factor in what they look for in treatment remedies, and it’s no wonder! 

Reading the full responses, especially those discussed above, helped affirm how vital our mission and product will be to allergy sufferers everywhere! Our device is designed to be fast, easy-to-use, and side-effect-free, so those with seasonal allergies can get the relief they deserve without having to come up with a treatment cocktail.  

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