Hi

Thanks for the query

Diprofos (Betamethasone) injection should be used only when the routine treatment regimen fails. It can be used any number of times in a year, but there are various side effects involved depending upon the frequency.

Stuffy nose following alcohol ingestion is caused by alcohol intolerance and high levels of histamine in alcoholic beverages. The earliest signs of alcohol intolerance and sensitivity to histamine is nasal congestion and flushing of the skin.

This is not a common phenomenon. The intolerance could be a genetic condition wherein the person's body is unable to break down the alcohol, leading to complications.

My suggestions are:
1. To avoid alcohol in the future.
2. Drink plenty of warm water during the times of nasal congestion.
3. Saline nasal spray and a potent steroid nasal spray (such as Fluticasone or Momentasone) to reduce the nasal stuffiness.
4. Steam inhalation to open up the sinus blockage.
5. An antihistaminic such as Fexofenadine to control the allergy.
6. Pseudoephedrine to reduce the nasal congestion.

All the above medications are safe and can be taken along with Levothyroxine.

Avoid Diprofos; it should be reserved for, when all the conservative measures fail. This is because, the injected medicines enters into the blood circulation and thus gets distributed into all parts of the body before reaching the nose, which can lead to various side effects. Whereas a steroid nasal spray will act locally without getting distributed into other systems of the body and thus causes negligible or nil systemic side effects.

Antibiotics are not required as the nasal stuffiness is not due to any infection.

Hope I have answered your query; I will be available for the follow-up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

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