Patients are being urged to avoid buying unlicensed medications such as Kenalog® online to treat hay fever symptoms this spring, as pharmacists report a sharp rise in public interest in the drug.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents over 6000 independent community pharmacies, has warned patients that buying medication from unregulated sellers, such as beauty salons and from social media sites, could serious health risks.
“Medication from unregulated sellers could be fake, swapped for an alternative medication and not meet rigorous safety standards we have in the UK,” said Olivier Picard, chair of NPA.
Common side-effects of Kenalog® can include joint pain, headaches, injection site reactions, and increased risk of infection, while uncommon side-effects can include serious mental health problems.
Kenalog®, a steroid injection, is not licensed by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to treat hay fever symptoms. Nevertheless, the NPA has reported more queries from patients about Kenalog®in pharmacies in recent weeks.
A recent NPA survey of over 350 pharmacies found:
- 45% of pharmacies had recently received inquiries about using Kenalog® for hay fever.
- 96% reported a significant rise in patients seeking treatment for hay fever since early April.
"Kenalog® is not licensed in the UK for the treatment of hay fever and we are clear that patients should not seek it online or request it from their community pharmacy,” Picard said.
Instead, he urged people to speak with their pharmacist about other options for managing hay fever symptoms.
"Pharmacists are well placed to provide safe licensed alternatives, such as antihistamines or steroid nasal sprays.”
Picard emphasised that medicines should not be treated like ordinary goods for sale online.
“They must be handled with great care because they have the power to harm as well as to heal,” he said.
Picard also called on regulators to reintroduce rules—previously in place under EU law before Brexit— that made it mandatory for a list of regulated online UK medicine sellers to be made publicly available.
“We think this will provide a helpful tool for patients to understand how to find a regulated, safe online pharmacy,” he said.
If anyone is unsure about medication they’ve bought online, they are advised to check with their pharmacist.
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