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Allergic diseases are a global health problem that remain under-diagnosed and often are not adequately treated. Allergic rhinitis and urticaria, in particular, are examples of bothersome conditions that can markedly impair the quality of life of affected individuals through negative effects on sleep, social activities (including sport and leisure), ability to work, and school performance. These diseases cannot be cured at the present time, but current first-line treatments such as the highly effective nonsedating second-generation antihistamines can markedly reduce symptoms while at the same time improving the patient’s well-being. They achieve these benefits through simultaneous inhibition of two or more chemical mediators involved in the immune-allergic cascade and this suggests that they have advantages (rapid and prolonged action, once-daily administration, greater convenience, and better tolerability/safety and efficacy) over firstgeneration antihistamines. In this satellite symposium the prestigious panel of experts will provide their perspectives relating to advances that are being made in our understanding of allergic/inflammatory disorders such as rhinitis and urticaria, and also some recent clinical findings regarding the effectiveness of the second-generation antihistamines in debilitating disorders such as allergic rhinitis and chronic urticaria.