Intranasal administration refers to medication that is inhaled or sprayed into the nose. The mucus membranes in your nasal cavity absorb drugs administered intranasally.

Intranasal treatments absorb and take action in the body quickly. Efficiency is a clear advantage of intranasal administration; some substances that enter the body via your digestive system and intravenously have difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier. In addition, evidence suggests that some treatments administered intranasally could also directly enter the brain.

Intranasal therapies are typically liquids, substances that can be sprayed or dropped into the nose. Sometimes, intranasal drugs are creams or ointments.

Esketamine Nasal Spray

Intranasal esketamine is of particular interest for people with treatment-resistant depression. This nasal spray is FDA-approved as an intranasal treatment when added to an existing anti-depressant regimen.

Esketamine appears to induce rapid and significant improvements in self-reported mood scores in some patients. In addition, some users report improvement in their symptoms as quickly as one week after receiving intranasal esketamine.