Now here’s a pharmeceutical company selling non-drowsy allergy medication that came up with the 2007 Reactine Quality of Life Report and the impact allergies have on sufferers of the condition.  Highlights from the report include:

    –   Allergic and Unbearable. Three out of four Canadians with allergies
        say symptoms increase irritability and fatigue, and 55 per cent claim
        reduced productivity (housework; on-the-job, academia).

    –   It’s not in Your Head: And this doesn’t come as a surprise to health
        experts. This season 71 per cent of health professionals agree
        allergies can regularly or often affect a person’s quality of life.

    –   Love, Labour & Snoozing. According to the Quality of Life Report,
        allergies permeate all facets of life, including sleep patterns, work
        performance, and even libido.

Although I could crack about salespeople doing anything possible to sell a product and convince people how miserable they are to sell product, I happen to have seasonal allergies.  I’ve been getting allergy shots twice a month for a couple years now.  When the season started this year—nothing—absolutely no symptoms.  Yes, you can medicate and should.  But why not see if you’re a candidate for shots, invest a little bit more time short term, and reap the long-term benefits?  I’ve been medication-free and enjoying the great outdoors.

Geez if all these studies tell us how much our productivity is decreased from allergies, smoking, obesity, watching football, surfing the Internet, being sick, etc., it makes me wonder how they ever find a single worker with "normal" productivity to study!