Cortisone spray for allergies

Allergic rhinitis or rhinoconjunctivitis is known to most people in its seasonal form as hay fever. Non-seasonal rhinitis is often referred to as a house dust allergy. These allergies are common triggers of asthma attacks in asthmatics, so they should be treated.

Both allergies can be treated with cortisone nasal sprays. A common active substance is budesonide. Such nasal sprays are also suitable for long-term therapy.

Cortisone spray for skin diseases

Various skin diseases, burning skin rashes, such as sunburns or allergic eczema can respond to a weak cortisone spray (usually hydrocortisone). The decision is to be made individually and depends very much on the individual clinical picture and the sensitivity of the skin. The sprays are applied directly to the skin and are suitable for short-term use. Not every dermatosis (skin disease) can be treated with such a spray, so the decision has to be made very individually in consultation with a dermatologist. Often it has to be tried out whether there is an improvement under the treatment.

Application of cortisone spray

The dosage for a cortisone spray depends on various factors and therefore cannot be given as a general rule. Cortisone sprays are used for a wide variety of diseases and for people of different ages. Furthermore, there are also different active ingredients that are also dosed differently.

Therefore, no dosage schemes can be given here. Particularly in the case of long-term therapies, many factors must be taken into account in order to find the correct dosage. The medication is used according to the prescription of the treating physician.

Regular use is important, not only when needed! Among other things, powder inhalers, solutions or so-called metered dose inhalers are used for inhalation. If possible, inhalation should be carried out directly before meals. Otherwise, the mouth should be rinsed out with water directly after inhalation (then spit out), so that the development of mouth sores can be prevented as far as possible. These measures can also reduce irritation of the throat and systemic side effects of glucocorticoids.

Contraindications during the use of cortisone spray

The cortisone spray should not be used if there is a hypersensitivity (allergy) to one of the spray’s ingredients or if it occurs during treatment. Further, partly limited, contraindications are

Untreated infections of the airways
Untreated infections of the eyes
Children

Side effects of cortisone spray

Even though most cortisone sprays are very well tolerated, side effects can always occur with drugs. These differ from one preparation to another and also depend on the individual characteristics of the patient. Some groups of patients who, for example, have many previous illnesses, usually have a higher risk of side effects than otherwise healthy patients.

In general, cortisone sprays that are inhaled can lead to fungal infection of the oral mucosa. Furthermore, the long-term use of inhaled cortisone sprays can lead to damage to the vocal cords and thus to hoarseness. Only in very rare cases can systemic side effects occur.

These include irritability, restlessness, glaucoma or cataracts, a decrease in bone mineral density and reduced activity of the adrenal cortex. Cortisone nasal sprays can lead to side effects such as nosebleeds, irritation of the throat and nose, pharyngitis, burning of the mucous membranes, infections of the upper respiratory tract, headaches or ulcers of the nasal mucous membrane. In general, however, they are very well tolerated, so that side effects are rather rare.

Cortisone skin sprays can also have side effects. The most common side effect is an allergic skin reaction. However, this is also a rare side effect overall.

Even more rarely, and only with long-term use of the spray, the skin may become thinner (skin atrophy), skin capillaries become visible, a steroid acne, excessive hairiness of the skin (hypertrichosis) or signs of dryness of the skin may occur. Stretch marks can also occur. The amount of glucocorticoids absorbed into the body’s bloodstream by a cortisone spray and thus causing systemic side effects is very small and therefore the application of glucocorticoids by spray is much more tolerable than systemic application, for example as tablets.