Allergies have a serious impact on employees’ work performance and productivity, according to a recent study of more than 10,000 manufacturing workers.

Compared to workers without allergies, employees with severe allergies made 2.5 to 3 times more mistakes, were absent 1.67 times more often, and had a nearly threefold increased risk of accidents or injuries, according to an article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Medication reduced the impact of allergies on job performance, but significant differences were seen between different treatments, with the most efficient medication being non-sedating antihistamines.

Employers should consider that health problems affecting even a small group of employees can still have a serious impact on a company, says Dr. Acacia Aguirre of Circadian Technologies. In cases where over-the-counter medications are a common option, providing information to workers about different types of medications, their properties and side effects, could help improve their health and the company’s bottom line.