Nasal sprays best for hayfever: US experts

Hayfever sufferers should avoid antihistamine tablets and are better off using a steroid nasal spray, US experts advise.

A systematic research review, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, found taking oral antihistamines to treat seasonal allergic rhinitis seem to add no extra benefit but may cause drowsiness.

The Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters, made up of US allergy specialists, recommends for the initial treatment of allergic rhinitis in persons aged 12 years or older that patients use a single intranasal corticosteroid rather than a spray in combination with a oral antihistamine.

"Overall, we judged the evidence as not proving a benefit of adding an oral antihistamine to an intranasal corticosteroid and recognised that oral antihistamines, mainly first-generation, may cause sedation and other adverse effects," they concluded.

For a serious hayfever sufferer, the Taskforce strongly recommends using a combo of corticosteroid and antihistamine sprays.

The review guidelines are in line with treatment recommendations from the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA).