May is asthma and allergy awareness month and Community Health Charities joins members American Lung Association and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America in raising awareness of the seriousness of asthma and allergies.

Allergic disease, including allergic asthma, is the country's most common and costly illness. Approximately 38 percent of all Americans suffer from some sort of allergic condition. Allergies are the most frequently reported chronic condition in children, limiting activities in more than 40 percent of these children. An estimated two million school days are lost each year due to allergies, with an indirect cost reaching $4 billion.