Side effects of nasal steroids

What are nasal steroids and when should they be used?

Nasal steroids are used to deal with sinusitis, which is an inflammation of the mucus found in paranasal sinuses. If acute form of sinusitis is not treated, it usually transfers into a chronic type. Sinusitis usually happens when the immune system weakens for various reasons, but it can also emerge when a stress factor is involved. It sometimes goes with influenza virus, and it brings additional problems such as headache and high temperature. Headache usually attacks in the morning and lasts the entire day. Person sometimes has a feeling of increased weight, especially in nasal area, but pressure and eye problems are also present. Excretion in throat might happen, leading to more pain and coughing.

As for the treatment, it is recommended to use antibiotics first, in order to eliminate any bacteria that might be the source of mucus secretion. After that, nasal steroids might be used as general medications that subdue the symptoms and that are effective with calming the inflammation of the mucus. Nasal steroids have advantage over oral steroids because their effect is local and cannot seriously affect any other system in the organism. They are not absorbed in the organism and therefore cannot cause any major problems.

Even though sinusitis is not dangerous, it can affect everyday life with symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, and sometimes even sleeping problems occur. All that can reduce life quality to a certain level. Therefore, it has to be treated. Antibiotics and nasal steroids are most common medications used for this condition. Nasal steroids help in reducing the swelling of the mucus, which is good because nasal area becomes more endurable, so allergens cannot affect it that easily.

Side effects of nasal steroids

As for side effects, it was already mentioned that nasal steroids do not show much of the negative effect, which sis because they are quite different comparing to systemic steroids. Perhaps nasal steroids are not that effective, but since there are very few side effects, it is obvious why they are commonly prescribed. Still, there are some serious side effects, which happen rarely and they include allergy reactions, with all allergy signs such as rash, swelling, redness etc. Also, there are some indications that adrenal glands might be affected if nasal steroids are taken for a long time. On rare occasions, immune system can be affected. As with any other medication, if any side effect occurs, doctor should be visited in order to change the dosage, or perhaps change the entire therapy.