It’s no coincidence that Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month is celebrated in May when allergies are at an all-time high in the United States. For millions of Americans who experience asthma and allergies, spring marks the peak of seasonal flare-ups.
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans has asthma and/or allergies, and many people have overlapping conditions. Most will live with symptoms for a lifetime. These numbers include:
- 28 million people with asthma, including 5 million children.
- 33 million people with food allergies, including 4 million children.
- 82 million people with seasonal nasal allergies or hay fever, including 14 million kids.
- 30 million people with atopic dermatitis, or eczema, including 9 million children.
For experts who specialize in treating these common conditions, it’s the perfect time to educate patients about symptom management and available treatments. Allergies are most likely to present as itchy eyes, nasal congestion and difficulty breathing. Common triggers include pollen, pet dander and other naturally occurring environmental allergens, to which the body overreacts. Man-made compounds like cigarette smoke and latex can also cause mild to critical reactions. Asthmatic reactions, too, can range from irritating to life-threatening, and regular evaluation by medical professionals is recommended to ensure flare-ups are minimized and safely managed.
Efforts to Help Everyone Breathe Easier
Allergens and allergic reactions are not evenly distributed across our communities, nor are the resources required to control them. People with limited access to medical care, inadequate insurance, or few financial resources are less able to access the therapies designed to treat these conditions. For these communities, advocacy work and public support must be prioritized alongside awareness efforts.
Several pieces of recently passed and pending legislation could promote the healthy management of asthma and allergy symptoms in vulnerable populations. These efforts focus on reducing delays and ensuring patients have better access to the treatments their clinicians recommend.
- The Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law in February, aims to rein in pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, the intermediaries that help determine which medications are covered by insurance plans. By reducing the ways PBMs benefit financially from manipulating drug formularies, the law could return control to patients and doctors.
- The Safe Step Act would limit a practice known as “step therapy” or “fail first,” where insurance companies deny clinician-prescribed treatments until patients try one or more insurer-preferred treatments.
- The EPIPEN Act is intended to make injectable emergency epinephrine affordable and accessible for all Americans who depend on it in allergic and anaphylaxis crises.
From Awareness to Action
Individuals with asthma and allergy symptoms that are not well controlled may benefit from seeking additional care. May is the perfect opportunity to do so. Other beneficial activities to mark Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month may include:
- Educating family and caregivers about symptoms to watch for and how to administer anti-inflammatory and epinephrine medications.
- Educating yourself about symptom management, including how to talk to your doctor and how to navigate health insurance mazes.
- Enrolling in a clinical trial or study to help future patients access new treatments.
- Sharing your own experience with symptoms or treatments using the social media hashtags #AAAM2026, #NAAAM, #AsthmaAwareness, #FoodAllergyAwareness, or #AllergyAwareness. Experts say every additional story helps reduce stigma.
