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The common cold
costs the U.S. economy $40 billion a year--an amount that’s
substantially higher than what is spent on other conditions
such as asthma, heart failure and emphysema. Missed days from
school and work, visits to the doctor and over-the-counter
and prescription medications account for the majority of costs.
To investigate
the impact of the cold, researchers conducted a nationwide
telephone survey of over 4,000 households to find out how
many people had colds as well as what methods people used
to treat them.
Close to three-quarters
of people surveyed said they had had a cold within the last
year, and the average respondent had two to three colds per
year. According to researchers, the cold is the most commonly
occurring illness in humans, with about 500 million occurring
each year in the United States alone.
Although antibiotics
have no effect on the viruses that cause colds, the study
found that about 41 million antibiotic prescriptions are written
for cold sufferers each year at a cost of $1.1 billion. Further,
Americans spend $2.9 billion on over-the-counter drugs and
$400 million on prescription drugs for relief of symptoms.
Researchers found
that there are more than 100 million doctors visits for colds
each year, at an estimated cost of $7.7 billion annually,
and another 6 million visits to the emergency room. More than
one-third of patients who visited a doctor for a cold received
a prescription, a pattern that is likely contributing to the
increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance in America.
Data also indicated
that about 189 million school days are missed because of colds
each year, which causes parents to miss 126 million workdays
in order to take care of their children at home. This, in
addition to the number of workdays missed by adult cold-sufferers,
adds up to more than $20 billion in cold-related work loss
each year.
Much of the costs
for colds are due to misconceptions about causes, treatments
and prevention of colds. According to a separate survey of
261 families with at least one young child in out-of-home
childcare, nearly all of the 197 families who responded knew
that viruses cause colds. However, more than half thought
antibiotics are needed to treat them. Also, close to two-thirds
of respondents said they’d take their child to a doctor
for a cold, and close to one-quarter said they’d take
their child to the emergency room, despite the fact that common
colds will get better without a doctor’s visit.
There is currently
no cure for the common cold, but researchers note that an
effective treatment or preventative measure for the cold would
have great economical impact.
Archives
of Internal Medicine February 24, 2003;163(4):487-94
USA
Today February 24, 2003
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