(RxWiki News) Hay fever is a common symptom for allergy sufferers that may require steroid treatments. Adding Vitamin D may improve steroidal hay fever treatment.
Vitamin D improved the effectiveness of glucocorticoids, a type of steroid, for treating hay fever. Researchers paired intranasal fluticasone propionate, such as Flonase, with Vitamin D to determine Vitamin D's effect on the hay fever treatment.
Nasal symptoms such as sneezing, itchy nose and congestion were significantly improved when a medication such as Flonase was paired with Vitamin D.
"Ask your doctor about available hay fever and seasonal allergy treatments"
The study was led by Fuad Baroody, M.D., from the University of Chicago. The double-blind study involved 25 individuals who had hay fever. Both groups received the intranasal fluticasone propionate treatment but one group received a Vitamin D supplement and the other group received a placebo for two weeks.
Nasal symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose, itchy nose and itchy throat were measured twice a day. Quality of life and Vitamin D levels were also measured.
Vitamin D levels were significantly higher in the 17 participants in the Vitamin D group when compared to the 18 participants in the placebo group. Daytime, as well as overall, nasal symptoms were significantly decreased in the Vitamin D group compared to the placebo group.
Quality of life was similar for both groups because the treatment was effective in improving hay fever symptoms.
Researchers conclude that Vitamin D may be an effective supplement for traditional hay fever treatments. Future studies can discover a mechanism that explains why Vitamin D may be an effective supplement for hay fever treatments.
Treatments like steroidal nasal sprays and oral steroids effectively manage and improve hay fever symptoms. This new study shows that Vitamin D could make current treatments more effective.
No funding information was provided.
This study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
