Dr Oliver Large
February 25, 2026
With the sun finally making a appearance after such a misearable spell of weather over the last few months, it has quickly become that time of year again for us:
“Can I have the hay fever injection?” has started again: this same enquiry from hayfever sufferers reliably lands in our inbox throughout the hayfever season.
For some people, these injections have been genuinely transformative. These people describe being able to enjoy the outdoors again, sleep properly through pollen season, and function normally after years of severe symptoms. When you hear those stories, it is easy to understand why these people continue to seek them out.
At the same time, hay fever steroid injections have become increasingly controversial. The NHS largely moved away from offering them around 2018, and in 2025 the commonly used injection Kenalog was withdrawn from the UK market. That has left many patients understandably confused. If they work so well for some people, why the hesitation?
The answer lies in understanding both the benefits and the risks, and recognising that healthcare decisions are rarely completely black and white.
What Is the 'Hay Fever Jab'? Understanding Steroid Allergy Treatments
The 'hayfever jab' is long-acting steroid injections. It reduces inflammation and suppresses the allergic response that drives symptoms such as sneezing, congestion, itchy eyes and fatigue.
For carefully selected patients, they can be very effective. However, steroids do not act only in the nose or eyes. They affect the whole body. Most people tolerate them without major problems, but they can influence blood sugar control, mood, immunity and bone health, particularly with repeated use over time.
For some individuals, the improvement can feel transformative, and they may understandably feel the risks are worth accepting. Even then, this is not a treatment to use casually. It requires careful consideration, proper discussion and responsible prescribing.
Why the NHS Stopped Offering Hay Fever Steroid Injections
Around 2018, NHS prescribing guidance shifted away from routine steroid injections for hay fever. This was not because the injections suddenly became unsafe, but because safer alternatives exist for most patients.
Antihistamines, nasal steroid sprays and immunotherapy can often control symptoms adequately without exposing the whole body to systemic steroids. In a public healthcare system working at population scale, that risk-benefit calculation inevitably leans towards the safest broadly applicable option.
That approach makes sense at population level, even if individual patient experience sometimes differs.
Kenalog Withdrawal UK 2025 - What Changed?
In 2025, Kenalog, the steroid injection most commonly associated with hay fever treatment in the UK, was withdrawn from the market. The withdrawal appears to have been driven primarily by commercial factors rather than a new safety signal, although the outcome has reinforced clinical caution.
Importantly, there is currently no steroid injection licensed specifically for hay fever in the UK. Any use now falls into off-licence prescribing, which carries additional professional responsibility and requires careful discussion with patients: off-licence prescribing is not unusual in medicine, but it does require careful clinical judgement and a clear discussion of risks and benefits.
Private GP Perspective: Why Some Patients Still Choose Hay Fever Steroid Injections
Despite the controversy, some patients continue to report significant benefit. For those with severe symptoms who have not responded well to standard treatments, a steroid injection can make a meaningful difference to quality of life.
That is why the conversation has not disappeared. Instead, it has become more nuanced. Medicine often involves balancing risks, benefits and individual circumstances rather than applying blanket rules.
Why We Offer Hay Fever Steroid Injections Only Within Our GP Membership Model
Treatments that sit in these grey areas are rarely well suited to one-off, transactional medicine. They require an understanding of the broader health context, regular review of alternative options, consideration of cumulative risks, and sometimes ongoing monitoring - for example keeping an eye on factors such as bone health over time. Just as importantly, they require space for ongoing discussion so that decisions remain appropriate as circumstances evolve.
For that reason, in our practice we now only consider hay fever steroid injections within our membership model, and only for members who have exhausted conventional first-line treatments. This allows appropriate continuity, careful monitoring and the level of clinical oversight that treatments of this nature require.
Interestingly, even among our members, we often agree not to continue steroid injections and instead develop a different management plan. Sometimes better optimisation of standard treatments, allergy referral, or simply planning ahead for the season proves more effective long term. Equally, some patients value knowing that we are willing to consider the option thoughtfully if their symptoms become genuinely difficult to manage.
Membership means we know you properly as a patient. We understand your medical background, your previous responses to treatment, and your priorities. That allows us to review decisions over time rather than treating each request in isolation, which ultimately supports safer and more personalised care.
The Value of Continuity: Private GP Membership & Long-Term Allergy Care
More broadly, this reflects how we think about healthcare generally. Some treatments are straightforward and episodic. Others benefit from continuity, context and relationship-based care.
Membership supports that approach. It provides predictable access, proactive health planning, and the ability to manage ongoing issues in a joined-up way rather than piecemeal.
For many patients, that continuity ends up being as valuable as any individual treatment.
Alternatives to Hay Fever Steroid Injections - Allergy Treatment Options UK
If seasonal allergies are significantly affecting your quality of life, there are several options worth exploring. Optimising standard treatments (hayfever tablets; steroid nasal sprays; eye drops; avoidance strategies), considering allergy testing, or planning ahead before pollen season can often make a substantial difference.
For some patients, referral for desensitisation therapy (allergen immunotherapy) may also be an important option, particularly where usual treatments have not provided sufficient relief.
And for a small number of carefully selected patients, after proper discussion of risks and benefits, steroid injections may still form part of that conversation.
The key is making these decisions in the right clinical context, with appropriate oversight and a clear understanding of both potential benefits and risks.
Ultimately, that is what good general practice is about.