Boots Allergy Relief 50 microgram Nasal Spray

Always take this medicine exactly as described in this leaflet or as your doctor or pharmacist has told you.

This medicine is available without prescription. However, you still need to use Allergy Relief 50 microgram Nasal Spray carefully to get the best results from it.

• Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
• Ask your pharmacist if you need more information or advice.
• You must contact a doctor if your symptoms worsen or do not improve after 7 days.
• You should not use Allergy Relief 50 microgram Nasal Spray for more than 3 months continuously without consulting a doctor.
• If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.

Allergy Relief 50 microgram Nasal Spray will be referred to as ‘Allergy Relief’ throughout this package leaflet.

1. What Allergy Relief is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you use Allergy Relief
3. How to use Allergy Relief
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Allergy Relief
6. Contents of the pack and other information

• If you are allergic to fluticasone propionate or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6).

Tell your doctor or pharmacist before you start to use this medicine if you:

• have had a recent injury or ever had an operation on your nose
• have had problems with ulcers in your nose
• are suffering or have recently suffered from a cold or an infection in your nose or sinuses
• if you are suffering or have recently suffered from any type of untreated infection or from tuberculosis or ocular herpes
• if you have recently been treated with injected steroids, or you have been taking oral steroids for a long time
• if you are taking more than 8 sprays (the maximum recommended daily dose) of Allergy Relief per day since additional steroid therapy may be required in time of stress.

Allergy Relief may decrease your own hormone production, especially if larger doses than recommended are used over a longer period of time. In this case, your doctor may need to give you extra medicine with adrenal hormone for extreme stress, after serious injuries or before surgery.

Contact your doctor if you experience blurred vision or other visual disturbances.

Allergy Relief will usually control seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever), however if you are exposed to excessive amounts of pollen additional therapy may be helpful for controlling other symptoms such as itching eyes. Please consult your doctor in such an event.

Please tell your doctor if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription:

• other corticosteroid medicines, such as prednisolone used to treat asthma or rheumatoid arthritis, hydrocortisone cream used to treat eczema or dermatitis, or other similar nasal sprays or eye/nose drops
• any medicines used in the treatment of fungal infections, e.g. ketoconazole
• any antiviral medicines used to treat HIV infections e.g. ritonavir, cobicistat. Some medicines may increase the effects of Allergy Relief and your doctor may wish to monitor you carefully if you are taking these medicines.

• Allergy Relief also includes the ingredient benzalkonium chloride, which is an irritant and may cause skin reactions. If Allergy Relief is used for long periods, the preservative benzalkonium chloride may cause nasal mucosa swelling (persistently congested nose). In case of such a reaction, medical products for nasal use without preservative should be used if possible. If these are not available, another pharmaceutical form should be used.

• Women of childbearing potential have to use effective contraception during treatment

If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.

• Allergy Relief is not known to affect your ability to drive or operate machinery.

• Treatment of symptoms:
  Take two sprays into each nostril once a day, preferably in the morning.
  This may be increased to two sprays into each nostril twice a day if your symptoms are particularly bad.
  Once your symptoms are under control you may reduce your dose to one spray in each nostril once a day.
  If, by reducing the dose, your symptoms worsen you should increase the dose back to the starting dose of two sprays in each nostril once a day (200 mcg).
  You should use the lowest dose of Allergy Relief that keeps your symptoms under control.
  If symptoms persist after 7 days, consult your doctor.
  The maximum daily dose should not exceed four sprays into each nostril.
• Prevention of symptoms:
  If you want to prevent the onset of your symptoms start to use Allergy Relief 2 to 3 days before you would expect your symptoms to develop.
• During times of stress
  Additional steroid therapy may be required during times of extreme stress or before a surgical operation. Your doctor will advise you under these circumstances.

Allergy Relief is not recommended for use in children or adolescents under 18 years of age.

Your Allergy Relief has a dust cap that protects the nozzle and keeps it clean – this must be taken off prior to using the spray and then replaced after use.

When your Allergy Relief is new the bottle must be primed as follows:-

1. Shake the bottle gently and then remove the dust cap.
2. Hold the bottle upright with your thumb under the bottle and your index finger and middle finger on either side of the nozzle. Ensure that the nozzle is pointing away from you when you do this.
3. Press down with fingers in order to pump the spray.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 a further five times – the bottle is now primed. If you have not used your Allergy Relief for 7 days, prime until a fine mist is produced.

If after attempting to prime the bottle the spray still does not work and you think it may be blocked you may clean the spray using the following procedure:-

1. Remove the dust cap.
2. Pull the white collar upwards to remove the nozzle.
3. Place the nozzle and dust cap in warm water and soak for a few minutes, and then rinse by placing under a running tap.
4. Shake off the excess water and allow the nozzle and dust cap to dry in a warm (not hot) place.
5. Re-fit the nozzle.
6. ‘Prime’ the bottle as necessary by pumping the spray a few times until a fine mist is produced.

You should clean your nasal spray at least once a week to stop it from getting blocked up. Additional cleaning is required when your spray becomes blocked. You must never attempt to unblock or enlarge the spray hole with a pin or other sharp object because this will destroy the spray mechanism.

1. Shake the bottle and remove the dust cap.
2. Gently blow your nose.
3. Close one nostril by pressing your finger against it and place the nozzle of the spray in your other nostril. Tilt your head forward slightly so that the bottle is kept upright.
4. Breathe in slowly through your open nostril and, at the same time, press the collar of the nozzle down firmly with your fingers to squirt a spray of fine mist into your nostril.
5. Breathe out through your mouth. Repeat step 4 to take a second spray into the same nostril.
6. Remove the nozzle from this nostril and breathe out through your mouth.
7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 with your other nostril.

Wipe the nozzle carefully with a clean tissue and put the dust cap back on.

It is important that you take your dose as stated on the carton and in the “How to use” section of this leaflet, or as advised by your pharmacist. You should not exceed the recommended dose; using more or less may make your symptoms worse.

If you (or someone else) use more Allergy Relief than is recommended, or if you think a child has used Allergy Relief, contact your doctor immediately.

Please take this leaflet, any remaining solution, and the container with you to the doctor so that they know which spray was used.

If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember, unless it is nearly time to take the next one. DO NOT take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.

Your symptoms may only start to improve after you have been using your medicine for a few days, therefore it is important that you use your medicine regularly for full benefit. If your symptoms do not improve after 7 days, consult your doctor before you stop using this medicine.

Rare (mat affect up to 1 in 1,000 people)

• severe allergic reaction giving rise to the sudden onset of a rash, swelling (usually of the tongue, face or lips) or difficulty in breathing
• bronchospasm (the narrowing of the airways in the lungs) with the signs of very wheezy or laboured breathing and coughing
• sudden drowsiness or dizziness (resulting in fainting or loss of consciousness).

Very rare (may affect up to 1 in every 10,000 people)

• glaucoma (raised pressure in the eye) and cataracts (clouding of the lens in the eye) have been reported following prolonged treatment
• perforation of the nasal septum (the dividing partition in the nose) and ulceration to the nose’s mucus membranes - although these usually impact on patients who have had previous surgery to the nose.

Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)

• epistaxis (nose-bleeds) (if this is severe you should stop using the medicine and contact your doctor).

Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people)

• dryness and irritation of the nose and throat and sneezing
• unpleasant taste in the mouth or an unpleasant smell in the nose
• headache

Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data)

• blurred vision
• Sores in the nose

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

• The active substance is fluticasone propionate. Each metered spray contains 50 micrograms (mcg) of fluticasone propionate.
• The other ingredients are glucose, microcrystalline cellulose, carmellose sodium, phenylethyl alcohol, benzalkonium chloride, polysorbate 80 and purified water.

• White opaque suspension in an amber glass bottle fitted with an atomising metered pump to create the spray.
• Each bottle contains sufficient suspension to deliver 60 metered sprays.

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