We are now offering hay fever relief injections at our clinic at Guys n Dolls Dartford.
This is a steroid injection that will help ease your allergy that tends to start from March through to May early springtime.
So if you dread the pollen season arriving this injection will help to stop sneezing, coughing, sore throat, itchy eyes.
For more information and prices please contact us. Fully insured, qualified and experienced practitioner.
Hay fever symptoms:
•Sneezing
•Blocked or runny nose (rhinorrhoea)
•Itchy eyes, nose, throat and roof of your mouth
•Red eyes , which water constantly
•Postnasal drip (mucus dripping down your throat from the back of your nose )-this may make you cough
•Headaches, caused by a stuffy nose
•Fatigue
•Swollen blue coloured skin under the eyes known as an allergic shiner.
What is Hay Fever?
•Hay fever is caused by an allergic reaction to pollen.
•More than often it triggers a violent sneezing,
a blocked or runny nose and itchy eyes.
•Severe hay fever symptoms can have a detrimental effect on quality of life, even ruin peoples lives.
•Hay fever can prevent people from being able to function at their best .
•The UK Is particularly affected by pollen with a vast mixture of flowers and trees such as silver birch and rape seed which is most likely to worsen symptoms of hay fever .
•At different time of the year ,different pollens are in the air , which answers the question to why people only get hay fever in either a certain season during the year .
What makes Hay Fever at its worse?
•The majority of people are allergic to grass pollen -May and June .
•Tree pollen late spring between March and May.
•Pollen from where and mould pollens- in autumn.
•It is estimated that there is 3 billion trees in the UK, this amounts to nearly 50 trees per person .
Hay Fever Relief :
•Wraparound glasses
•Vaseline
•Over the counter antihistamine
•Nasal sprays
•Injectable steroids
•Immunotherapy ( allergy shots )
•Under the tongue (sublingual ) allergy tablets
•Rinsing your sinuses
Do you have hayfever?
Who diagnoses hayfever…..
self diagnosed
Antihistamines
GP may investigate if not typical
Skin prick test for allergies
You may even try a homeopathy solution
It is advisable to
Stay home during high pollen count days
Reduce bare skin as much as possible- the allergy can be made worse by pollen on the skin- not just eyes, nose & mouth
Have frequent showers to wash any pollen off the skin
Anaphylaxis
Swelling of the lips, tounge, throat
Fast or slow heart rate
Low blood pressure
Hives
Itchiness
Flushing
Lightheaded ness
Loss of consciousness
Confusion
Headache
Anxiety
Shortness of breath
Wheezing
Trouble swallowing
Cough
How does it work ?
Once injected can take approx. 3 weeks to travel through the body
Hay fever injections are also used for joint pain, inflammatory disorders, and allergic disorders such as asthma
Reason for having Hay fever injections
Treatment of severe hayfever, that is resistant to alternative treatments:
Hay fever is caused by your immune system reacting to unnecessary pollens
You immune system is such an important part of your body that will use up a lot of energy fighting off pollen
This is wasted energy that would be much better utilised elsewhere in life
How long does hayfever last?
Trees can begin to produce pollen in late January and grasses continue until the end of September
Between 10-15% of us suffer from hayfever symptoms
For many it causes fatigue and problems with concentration
People can do 5-10% worse in exams due to hayfever
Of those 5-10% of people 10% of them people do not respond to conventional treatments such as antihistamine tablets
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages –
Very affective treatment
One jab should cover whole pollen season
Disadvantages-
No longer offered on the nhs
Unable to stop absorption if side effects occur as it is already inside the body
Insurance restraints allow of those over 18 years of age
Hay fever injections and the nhs
Hay fever injections were given routinely to severe hayfever sufferers via the nhs until about 5-10 years ago
Nhs no longer administer Hay fever injections for hayfever- as the risks do not justify the benefits
Currently been used to good effect and while we do not directly disagree with the assessment of the nhs, we do belive in patient choice and are happy to make this treatment available for people who have thoroughly considered the risks
Hay fever injections are still officially licensed for the treatment of severe hayfever in the uk and continues to be routinely administered to patients in most other countries around the world
Steroids reduce the bodies inflammatory response
40mg of Hay fever injections – equivalent to taking 5mg of prednisone everyday for about 3 weeks
Difference is that tablets are out of the system within 24 hours
Hay fever injections last for atleast 3 weeks as an IM injection
Main reason for the nhs have identified this method as a problem
Anaphylaxis
Anaphylactic allergic reactions have been rarely reported. However it is something that should be discussed as part of their consent to treatment
• Swelling of the face, lips or throat
• Breathing difficulties
• Skin itching, redness or a rash
• Sticky black stools
• Severe abdominal pain
• Vomiting blood.
Psychological Effects of Steroids
If any of the symptoms below develop medical intervention must be sought.
• Feeling depressed, including thinking about suicide
• Feeing high (mania) or moods that go up and down
• Feeling anxious, or having problems sleeping, difficulty in thinking or being confused and losing memory
• Feeling, seeing or hearing things which do not exist.
Other Possible Side Effects
• Increased risk of infections
• Pain and skin colour changes at site of injection
• Sterile abcess at sight of injection. This can cause an unsightly dimple and the skin of your buttock.
• Dimpling of the skin caused by loss of fat under the skin at injection site
If you were to get an infection such as measles or chicken pox within 3 weeks of having a Kenalog injection it would be a worse episode than would otherwise be the case.
Side Effects General to Steroids
• Mood changes
• Indigestion, stomach pain, stomach ulcers, bloating and weight gain
• Eye problems including glaucoma and cataracts
• Fungal infections eg. thrush
• Osteoporosis (thinner bones)
• Reduction in the body’s overall ability to respond to major stress resulting from serious injuries.
Desmopressin (Nocturia) / Glucocorticoids
• Steroid may increase the risk of developing low levels of sodium (salt) in the blood
• Develop low levels of sodium (salt) in the blood, which is called hyponatremia
• Hyponatremia can cause seizures, coma, trouble breathing and death if not treated early.
Talimogene Iaherparepvec/ Selected Immunosuprresants
• Cancer medicine contains a weakened herpes virus
• Medicines which suppress your immune system may decrease your body’s ability to fight infections
What might happen:
Using these medicines together could cause a severe herpes infection.
All of these medicines can decrease the body’s ability to fight infections
May have a higher risk of an infection while taking both medicines
Inhibitors Interactions
•Boceprevir
•Cobicistat
•Conviaptan
•Idelalsib
•Indinavir
•Mivbefradil
•Nefazondone
•Nelfinavir
•Ribociclib
•Ritonavir
•Saquinavit
•Telaprevir
•May slow down how quickly your liver processes certain corticosteroids
•Dexamethasone may speed up how quickly your liver processes telaprevir
•Corticosteroid in your blood may increase and cause side effects .
Corticotropin (ACTH) Live Vaccines Interactions Corticosteroids or corticotropin may prevent immune system from responding correctly to vaccine Corticosteroids or corticosterone , taken in previous three months , you may not develop disease immunity from the vaccine and or the vaccine may cause you to develop the illness it was supposed to prevent .
131 / Myelosuppressives; immunonmodualtors interactions All of these medicines can decrease your blood counts and decrease your body’s ability to fight infections and increase your risk of bleeding . You may have a higher risk of an infection and bleeding while taking both medicines or if you received these medicines recently .
T cell immunotherapies / corticosteroids interactions
How the interaction occurs
•Corticosteroidss may prevent your body’s immune system from responding to your oncology treatment .
What might happen ;
If you are taking corticosteroids while you receiving therapy with axicabtagrne brexucabtagene , or tisagrnlecleucel , your oncology treatment may not work as well .
Selected Mulgiple sclerosis agents /immunosupressants ;immunodulators interactions
How the interaction occurs ;
All of these medicines can decrease your body’s ability to fight infections
What might happen :
You may have a higher risk of an infection while taking both medicines.
Radioactive kiddie /Agents that affect lodide interactions
How the interactions occurs :
Many medicines can affect how your body processes iodide
What might happen
These medicines can affect how your iodide therapy works
It is less significant if you are taking radioactive iodide as part of a diagnostic procedure .
Mifamurtide / Corticosteroids interactions
How the interaction occurs;
Mifamurtide stimulates your immune system while corticosteroids can decrease your immune system function .
What might happen?
Your Mifamurtide may not work as well.
Mifepristone/Corticosteriods interactions
How the interactions occurs ;
Mifepristone May keep your corticosteroid medicine from working
What might happen :
Your corticosteroid medicine may become ineffective.
Antichonlinesterse /Corticosteroids interactions
How the interactions occur:
The cause of the interaction is not known. Corticosteroids May decrease the effects of your anticholinesterases .
What might happen :
The effect of your anticholinesterases May decrease and cause your symptoms of myasthenia gravis to worsen.
