The COVID-19 pandemic has recently brought up concerns over whether allergy and asthma patients should continue to take routine medications, including inhaled and intranasal corticosteroids.
The confusion comes from multiple sources, including the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reports from these organizations regarding systemic corticosteroids treatments and COVID-19 symptoms may have caused allergy and asthma sufferers to be concerned about their normal use of medications as the spring allergy season begins. This has prompted the ACAAI to release new guidance over the importance of continuing medications:
From the ACAAI
With the COVID-19 pandemic coinciding with the Spring allergy season, you may be concerned about using your intranasal corticosteroids for nasal allergies and your inhaled corticosteroids for your asthma. There is no data that continuing these allergy and asthma medications will have any effect on increasing your risk of getting the COVID-19 infection or if you get the infection, lead to a worse outcome. It is important to control your allergy and asthma symptoms as they may lead to misdiagnosis of COVID-19 as there are some overlap of symptoms.
Dr. Latall also made a few media appearances last week to discuss the differences between allergy symptoms and coronavirus symptoms. He joined John Williams and WGN Radio 720 to explain the nuances of the two. Click here to listen to the interview.
Later he appeared on WCIU The Jam to discuss symptoms and how to treat pet allergies during the shelter-in-place.
For more information visit acaai.org.
If you have questions about your allergy and asthma medications, please contact us.