What is prednisone made of

The body recognizes a transplanted organ as a foreign mass. These conditions can lead to nephrotic syndrome. As a result, large amounts of protein leaks into the urine. This in turn reduces the amount of protein in your blood, known as proteinuria. Prednisone is used to help lower proteinuria in these disorders. People taking prednisone can also experience higher blood sugar, which is a special concern for those with diabetes.

Therefore, some precautions need to be taken. Your healthcare provider will weigh the possible benefits and side effects when giving this and other medications. Many people have benefitted from prednisone without serious side effects.

Talking to your healthcare provider, using your medication as instructed, and taking the necessary precautions, can help you benefit from prednisone while managing side effects. Here are some things you can do to keep yourself healthy:. Skip to main content. Prednisone can also be passed onto a nursing baby through breast milk.

According to the NIH, discuss proper birth control methods and let your doctor know if you plan to get pregnant or are pregnant while taking this medication.

The use of prednisone is carefully monitored in children, as the corticosteroid can cause problems with growth. Like other steroids, prednisone has a number of unpleasant side effects. Commonly, patients will experience:. Changes in the shape and location of body fat, particularly in the arms, legs, face, neck, breasts, and waist.

Side effects can be amplified if prednisone is consumed in conjunction with alcohol, so safetymedical. Alcohol can also exacerbate the mental effects of prednisone, as it is a depressant.

It can also increase irritation to the gastrointestinal system, as well as lowering the immune system. Combining alcohol and prednisone can worsen the possibility of any of the listed side effects.

Prednisone is not an addictive substance. Withdrawal symptoms of prednisone include weakness, fatigue, weight loss, nausea, low blood pressure, and menstrual changes. Prednisone overdoses are generally not life-threatening. Side effects. Introduction Corticosteroids, often known as steroids, are an anti-inflammatory medicine prescribed for a wide range of conditions. Corticosteroids are available in different forms, including: tablets oral steroids injections — which can be into blood vessels, joints or muscles inhalers — such as mouth or nasal sprays lotions, gels or creams topical steroids What are corticosteroids used for?

Corticosteroids are mainly used to reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system. They are used to treat conditions such as: asthma allergic rhinitis and hay fever urticaria hives atopic eczema chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD painful and inflamed joints, muscles and tendons lupus inflammatory bowel disease IBD — including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica multiple sclerosis MS Corticosteroids can also be used to replace certain hormones that are not being produced by the body naturally — for example, in people with Addison's disease.

Possible side effects Corticosteroids will only be prescribed if the potential benefits of treatment outweigh the risks. Potential side effects of long-term treatment include: increased appetite — potentially leading to weight gain acne thinned skin that bruises easily increased risk of infections mood changes, mood swings and depression diabetes high blood pressure osteoporosis weak and brittle bones withdrawal symptoms caused by suppression of the adrenal glands If you have troublesome side effects after taking corticosteroids, don't stop taking your medication until your doctor says it's safe to do so, because of the possibility of these unpleasant withdrawal effects.

Cautions and interactions For most people, including pregnant or breastfeeding women, steroid inhalers and injections are safe. Accessing medicines self-help guide Visit our self-help guide on accessing medicines if you have difficulty getting the medicines you need.

Who can use them For most people, steroid inhalers and steroid injections should not cause any troublesome side effects. Steroid tablets Corticosteroid tablets are the most powerful type of steroid medication, because they can affect the whole body.

Steroid tablets should be used with caution in people with: liver problems, such as liver disease — corticosteroids may not be broken down by the liver at a normal rate, leading to increased levels of the medication in the blood mental health or behavioural problems, such as depression or alcohol dependence — corticosteroids can have unpredictable effects on behaviour and mood wounds — oral corticosteroids can delay wound healing They should also be used with caution in people with a health condition that could be made worse by taking oral corticosteroids, including: heart failure a recent heart attack high blood pressure diabetes epilepsy glaucoma underactive thyroid gland osteoporosis obesity psychosis stomach ulcers In these situations, you will only be prescribed oral corticosteroids if the benefits of treatment clearly outweigh any potential risks.

Steroid injections Most people can safely have corticosteroid injections, but they should be avoided or used with caution if you have an ongoing infection or a blood clotting disorder such as haemophilia. Steroid inhalers and sprays There is generally no reason why someone shouldn't be able to use a steroid inhaler or steroid spray, but these should be used with caution in people with ongoing infections, such as tuberculosis TB.

Pregnancy Corticosteroids are generally safe to use during pregnancy. Breastfeeding If a woman needs to take steroid tablets while she is breastfeeding, a type called prednisolone is usually recommended, because it is thought to have the least chance of causing the baby any adverse effects.

Medicines that interact with them Corticosteroids can interact with other medicines, and the effects of either medicine can be altered as a result. Anticoagulant medicines Anticoagulant medicines are medications that make the blood less sticky. Anticonvulsants Anticonvulsants are medicines used to prevent seizures fits and are often used to treat epilepsy , but they can reduce the effectiveness of corticosteroids.

Diabetes medication Corticosteroids can decrease the effectiveness of medications used to treat diabetes. HIV medication Corticosteroids, including steroid inhalers, can sometimes interact with a type of medication known as protease inhibitors such as ritonavir used to treat HIV.

Live vaccines Some vaccinations contain a weakened form of the infection they are designed to protect against. Examples of live vaccines include: the measles, mumps and rubella MMR vaccine the BCG vaccine for tuberculosis TB As corticosteroids can weaken your immune system and make you more vulnerable to infection, you should avoid any live vaccine until at least three months after your course of corticosteroids has finished. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs are a group of commonly used painkillers, such as ibuprofen , that are available over the counter at pharmacists.

Side effects Corticosteroids are powerful medications that can sometimes have a wide range of side effects. They will only be used if the potential benefits are thought to outweigh this risk.

The risk of experiencing side effects largely depends on: the type of steroid you're taking — steroid tablets oral corticosteroids are more likely to cause side effects than inhalers or injections the dose — the higher the dose, the greater the risk of developing side effects the length of treatment — for example, you're more likely to develop side effects if you take steroid tablets for more than three weeks your age — young children and the elderly are more likely to experience side effects Some of the main side effects are listed below, but this is not a complete list.

Steroid inhalers Inhaled steroids usually have few or no side effects if used at normal doses. However, they can sometimes cause: a sore mouth or throat minor nosebleeds difficulty speaking or a hoarse or croaky voice a cough oral thrush Rinsing your mouth out with water after using your medication can help to prevent oral thrush, and using a device called a spacer with your medication can help to prevent many of the other problems.

Steroid injections Steroids that are injected into muscles and joints may cause some pain and swelling at the site of the injection. Steroid tablets Short, occasional courses of steroid tablets taken for no longer than three weeks are very unlikely to cause troublesome side effects. Tweet Click here to share this page on Twitter This will open a new window.

Print Click here to print this page This will open your print options in a new window. Source: NHS 24 - Opens in new browser window. Last updated:. How can we improve this page? Email Address e. Message Maximum of characters.