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Potential Treatment For Hayfever Article
Potential Treatment for Hayfever
from:A drug used to treat allergic conjunctivitis is being hailed as a potential treatment for hayfever sufferers.
Scientists hope that Epinastine, an antihistamine used in drops to treat conjunctivitis (a condition in which the eyes become itchy, swollen and red because of allergens in the air) could be used in the form of a nose spray by the millions of hayfever sufferers worlwide.
Epinastine works by preventing the release of natural substances which cause allergic reactions in the eyes. The developers of the new nasal spray containing the drug, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, are running a clinical trial of the spray. The two week trial will compare two doses of the nasal spray and a dummy treatment in 750 hayfever sufferers.
Hayfever, also known as allergic rhinitis, occurs as a result of the immune system overreacting to pollen. Symptoms include sneezing and a runny nose. The condition affects up to 20 percent of people and a quarter of those aged between 11 and 21.