With the days of social distancing mostly behind us, increasing pressure and anticipation to get back to gatherings, show up in person for work and more are leading Americans to overuse cold and allergy medicines to mask symptoms from regular colds to ensure their attendance, Bloomberg reported Dec. 20.
Spending on cold and allergy medicines has risen year over year since COVID-19's onset as well. Since 2019, Americans have spent an additional 23% in the category, totaling $11.8 billion in the last 52 weeks, as of early December.
Stigma surrounding coughs and sneezes and desires to return to normal social activities has led many to spend to mask what is not COVID-19 or flu in order to continue their normal activities, Simon Williams, PhD, a psychologist from Swansea University in Wales, explained to Bloomberg.
Data also shows that fewer adults are taking time off of work for being sick than in previous years.