FEWER Australians than ever are choosing to "man-up" and soldier through colds or flus without taking any medication, a survey reveals.
The latest Roy Morgan health and wellbeing data shows more than two-thirds of Australians aged 14 or older suffered from an allergy, cold or flu last year, with more than 40% deciding not to take medication to relieve their symptoms.
While the numbers of patients "soldiering on" through illnesses remains high, the survey results show that more Australians are turning to medicines than in 2012, Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine noted.
"Seven years ago, just over half those experiencing allergies/cold and flu chose not to take medication," she said.
"Today, the majority of sufferers do so. But even with the increase, there are still more than six million Australians who don't take medication to deal with these conditions."
The survey found 14 million Australians experienced a cold, flu or allergy last year, with the 14-17 age group most likely to report having suffered from one of the conditions (75.3%) while those over 65 years reported the lowest rate of illness (53.9%), the survey revealed.
"The data suggests a clear decrease in the proportion of Australians affected by allergies/cold and flu as age increases," Levine said.
"In terms of the differences between the sexes, a greater proportion of women are affected than men, and when it comes to geographical differences, the ACT has the highest proportion of affected individuals, with over three-quarters of residents experiencing either allergies or colds and flu in an average 12 months."
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