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PARSIPPANY, N.J. — GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare’s Flonase Allergy Relief brand, which recently launched over the counter, has partnered with The Weather Channel to provide tools and resources to educate allergy sufferers about how changing weather patterns can affect their condition and how they can better manage their allergy symptoms.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare’s Flonase Allergy Relief brand, which recently launched over the counter, has partnered with The Weather Channel to provide tools and resources to educate allergy sufferers about how changing weather patterns can affect their condition and how they can better manage their allergy symptoms.
The companies said Wednesday that the new Allergy Tracker tool goes beyond pollen data to help allergy sufferers access weather analysis.
Available at Weather.com/allergy and on The Weather Channel app, the tool includes an outdoor allergy tracker that shows levels and maps for mold, various types of pollen and a breathing index.
It also offers a Three-Day Outlook to forecast how overall conditions are expected to change from daily. An indoor allergy meter, too, measures conditions that can trigger or increase allergens in the air, such as current temperature, thermostat temperature, outdoor humidity and whether your air conditioner is on, resulting in conditions that are too wet or too dry.
"This partnership has enabled allergy and weather experts to come together to develop and launch the first-of-its-kind Allergy Tracker," stated Amardeep Kahlon, director of consumer marketing at GlaxoSmithKline. "This comprehensive tool, coupled with the availability of Flonase Allergy Relief over the counter, gives allergy sufferers the resources they need to be greater than their allergies."
The Allergy Tracker combines proprietary weather data — forecasted and reported — as well as information from public and private agencies and medical experts to measure and rate conditions. The information from The Weather Channel Allergy Tracker shows current daily levels for the three allergy indexes, as well as the Three-Day Outlook.
"Working with Flonase, we’ve put together the best information about weather conditions and the most relevant, allergy-specific details to create an allergy tracker on weather.com that will truly help allergy sufferers deal with symptoms," explained Paul Walsh, meteorologist and vice president of weather analytics at The Weather Company. "Using this combination of proprietary and public information, this tool will aid consumers with pinpointing allergen irritants in their detected locations, which will help them better prepare for their days."
About 50 million people in the United States suffer from nasal allergies. A recent survey commissioned by GSK, the maker of Flonase Allergy Relief, showed that respondents believe the weather can affect allergies more than ever before. The vast majority of those polled (88%) suggested that the weather affects their allergy symptoms, and 59% cited weather-related influences as the main cause of their allergies.
In addition, 76% of respondents said that they are interested in new tools to help them manage their allergies.
Flonase Allergy Relief (fluticasone propionate 50 mcg spray) is a nonprescription treatment for hay fever symptoms, including nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, itchy nose and itchy, watery eyes. GSK noted that the medication helps to block six of the key allergic substances that cause an allergic reaction, compared with antihistamines, which block only one.
Flonase Allergy Relief, with full prescription strength, recently became available OTC on shelves at drug, grocery and mass retailers nationwide.
