Key points
- As a nasal spray, fluticasone propionate is specifically licensed for the nasal symptoms of perennial nonallergic rhinitis in adults and children aged 4 and older.
- Only about 5 to 11% of an inhaled dose reaches the bloodstream, with the exact amount depending on which inhaler device is used.
- Your liver processes fluticasone propionate mainly through the CYP3A4 enzyme pathway, leaving one main breakdown product circulating afterwards.
- In children, this corticosteroid may slow growth velocity, so doctors monitor growth and use the lowest dose that controls symptoms.
What Fluticasone Propionate is used for
For Asthma, fluticasone propionate is combined with the bronchodilator salmeterol, as in Advair Diskus and Seroflo. Given this way, an inhaler such as Seretide produces an anti-inflammatory action inside the lungs, cutting asthma symptoms and flare-ups with fewer side effects than a corticosteroid taken by mouth or injection.
It also treats Allergic Rhinitis as a nasal spray, in medicines such as Dymista and Flonase Nasal Spray. On the skin, in Cutivate and Flutivate Skin Cream, it is used for inflammatory conditions including atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
GlaxoSmithKline is the originator that markets Advair Diskus, Flovent, Flonase Nasal Spray and Flutivate Skin Cream. Meda Pharmaceuticals markets Dymista, and PharmaDerm markets Cutivate. Seroflo, made by Cipla Ltd, is built around the same fluticasone propionate and salmeterol combination as Advair Diskus, which is why several brands can share one active ingredient.
The forms differ in how the medicine reaches the body. Advair Diskus, Flovent and Seroflo are Respiratory Health inhalers that carry fluticasone propionate straight into the lungs, Dymista and Flonase Nasal Spray deliver it into the nose, and Cutivate and Flutivate Skin Cream apply it directly to the skin.
Further reading