Urgent warning over popular hay fever remedy that's causing patients to go BLIND
The powerful prescription-only drug Kenalog suppresses the immune system, dampening the allergic reaction hay fever sufferers experience. Its effects can last months.
But the injection was phased out of NHS use around a decade ago after safety watchdogs decided its risks outweighed the benefits.
Yet, National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chiefs, which represents more than 6,000 UK pharmacies, have now warned chemists have seen a dramatic uptick in patients seeking advice on how to get the drug.
The jabs can involve worrying side effects such as abdominal pain, vision loss, shortness of breath and bone pain.
It can also leave people vulnerable to other infections, including chickenpox and shingles and potentially cause irregular heartbeats, depression and high blood pressure.
But more worrying are the risks of taking a medication that isn't what is says it is.
While people can legally get Kenalog privately, NPA officials are concerned that unregulated sellers like salons and beauty clinics could also be selling fake Kenalog.
Clinics are banned from promoting any prescription-only medications under UK advertising rules.
However, MailOnline also found salons and beauty clinics from across the UK advertising Kenalog steroid injections as a hay fever remedy on Instagram for between £50 and £75.
The NPA survey, carried out earlier this month, gathered responses from more than 350 pharmacies.
Some 45 per cent said they had received queries from patients on how to obtain Kenalog as a hay fever treatment, while almost all (96 per cent) had seen a significant rise in people seeking help for the condition since April.
NPA chair Olivier Picard, told MailOnline: 'Kenalog is not licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK for the treatment of hay fever symptoms.
'This means that if a patient is accessing Kenalog, there is a risk it is through an unregulated source, such as a beauty salon or a seller from an abroad instead of regulated pharmacy.
'The drug has a number of side effects, including joint pain and increased risk of infection and in more rare and serious cases it can cause mental health issues.
'We are urging patients who are struggling with hay fever symptoms to avoid Kenalog and instead to use a regulated community pharmacy, who can treat the symptoms easily and safely.'
He added: 'Medication from unregulated sellers could be fake, swapped for an alternative medication and not meet rigorous safety standards we have in the UK.
'If people are unsure about medication bought online, they should check with their pharmacist.'
Research has shown Kenalog injections can cause vision loss by increasing pressure inside the eye damaging the optic nerve, like other steroids.
Vision loss can also occur via accidental injection into blood vessels, with the likelihood of this happening rising among unqualified injectors.
Kenalog is the brand name for triamcinolone acetonide and is a steroid injection.
It is licensed as a medicine for a number of conditions such as joint pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthrosis, though not for the treatment of hay fever.
Last summer, UK health chiefs issued a joint enforcement notice about the advertising of Kenalog injections on social media, which was welcomed by health bodies and charities including Allergy UK.
The MHRA alongside the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) warned any ads found to include text or images promoting the jabs would be banned.
Even including a syringe emoji would be a breach of the law.
At the time, Shahriar Coupal, the director of CAP, said: 'Our enforcement notice, published jointly with the MHRA, makes it abundantly clear that Kenalog, as a prescription-only-medicine, should not be directly or indirectly advertised to the public.'
He added: 'Our rules apply across media, but we are particularly concerned about the prevalence of Kenalog injection advertising on social media.'
MailOnline, however, today found several clinics — most of which specialised in cosmetic treatments — still promoting Kenalog for as little as £50.
One aesthetics clinic, based just outside of Doncaster, advertised £60 jabs on Instagram.
'One injection can suppress the body's immune response to histamine for up to three months,' it said.
WHAT IS KENALOG AND WHY WAS IT PULLED FROM NHS?
What is Kenalog?
Kenalog is a steroid injection used to treat hay fever.
The jab, usually administered to the buttocks, contains triamcinolone — a corticosteroid hormone.
Rather than curing hay fever, it is a blunt tool that works by suppressing the body's immune response, so that symptoms are alleviated.
One injection may be enough for hay fever sufferers to get through the year but others may need a booster dose two weeks after the first.
As well as hay fever, the drug is used to treat arthritis, gout and skin diseases.
Why did the NHS stop offering Kenalog?
The jabs were routinely given to severe hay fever sufferers until around a decade ago.
But guidelines found their side effect risk was too high, compared to the benefits of the jab.
It was found to leave people vulnerable to other infections like chicken pox, shingles or the flu, and cause serious side effects like irregular heartbeats, depression and high blood pressure.
Another, in Kent offered the medication for £70.
'Hayfever injections can enhance your complexion and restore confidence, allowing you to enjoy the seasons without the discomfort of allergies,' they wrote.
The NPA has also now urged regulators to reintroduce rules that made it mandatory for a list of regulated online UK medicine sellers to be made publicly available.
Previous EU rules required this to happen, but these were scrapped when the UK left the EU.
Medical professionals have long urged the millions of Brits who suffer from bad hay fever, as well as asthma and other lung issues, to take precautions, including taking regular medication, always carrying their inhaler and call 111 if their symptoms get worse.
Patients are advised to visit their local pharmacy for quick and safe treatments to relieve their symptoms.
The NHS also recommends people put Vaseline around their nostrils to trap pollen, wear wrap-around sunglasses to stop pollen getting in the eyes and shower and change clothes after being outside to wash pollen off.
Unlike a cold, which normally goes away within a week, hay fever can last for weeks or months.
Symptoms begin when immune cells mistakenly identify pollen proteins as a threat and make antibodies that trigger chemicals called histamines.
These make the blood vessels dilate, prompting the release of fluid from capillaries, triggering a runny nose, sneezing and weeping eyes.
While not life-threatening itself, tens of thousands of hay fever sufferers also have asthma, which can flare-up during pollen bombs. Asthma attacks can be fatal.
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