Health

How does a steroid shot make your allergies suck less?

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We’re coughing, we’re sneezing and we’re definitely sniffling—one more tissue and the raw tips of our noses might actually fall off. Yes, Las Vegas, allergy season has arrived.

And so has help that makes the season suck a bit less. While many reach for Claritin-D and the requisite Puffs Plus, others are opting for the Kenalog steroid shot.

According to NeCole Leland, an instructor at UNLV’s School of Nursing, the intramuscular injection’s convenience is a big factor. “The Kenalog shot is not specific to allergies. It is an injectable steroid, so it actually decreases inflammation throughout the whole entire body,” unlike shots that target specific allergies, which, according to Leland, also carry the risk of anaphylaxis. Leland says physicians will also reach for nasal sprays, but those must be used “every single day” for them to work. Kenalog’s convenience trumps again.

Leland says the shot does have some possible side effects, but with an empty Kleenex box and a raw nose, steroids are starting to sound mighty convenient.

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