New report says one in three Australians have an allergy

ABC NEWS (Australia)

One in three Australians are now living with an allergy according to a report released today. It's a figure experts say has jumped by 10 per cent since 2007 and is estimated to cost the economy $19 billion per year.

Transcript

00:00For many Australians living with food allergy, eating out isn't carefree.

00:07Sometimes it gets a bit tricky, like all your friends want to go out for a nice dinner and you have to call the restaurant.

00:14Not every restaurant is good at managing allergies.

00:18There are now more than 8 million Australians who live with an allergy, according to a report released today.

00:24For some it can result in mild hay fever symptoms, for others life threatening anaphylaxis.

00:30I go really red and then I get puffy eyes and can't breathe so that's my normal sort of reaction.

00:37The new National Allergy Council and Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy Research found allergies are increasing.

00:46But the reasons aren't clear cut.

00:48It's a combination of environmental factors, some lifestyle changes and then an increase in awareness and diagnosis of allergic disease.

01:00And they warn it's costing the economy more than 19 billion dollars.

01:04Health care is impacted, the cost of health care, the cost of productivity.

01:11So people not being able to work or not working at a level that they could work if they felt well.

01:20The Federal Government acknowledged the report and points to a 27 million dollar investment

01:25into addressing allergic disease and anaphylaxis, a measure set to end this year.

01:30But advocates argue there's more work to be done.

01:34We need to be doing more to improve the care of these people to try and reduce that cost burden.

01:42They say the tides have turned in awareness.

01:45People have become more aware and the better understanding makes life a lot easier in every aspect really.

01:51Preparation for the worst, key to staying safe.

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