Prednisone Side Effects

Prednisone's side effects are legendary in both the medical and patient communities. Patients usually ingest this non-synthetic corticosteroid drug orally. However, doctors administer prednisone in the form of intramuscular injection, too. Medical professionals prescribe prednisone for many medical conditions.

Benefits of Prednisone

Prednisone turns into the steroidal product prednisolone after the liver has processed prednisone following administration. Its most common use is as an immunosuppressant that acts on almost the entire immune system. This makes it very useful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases like severe asthma, severe poison ivy dermatitis, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. Doctors also use prednisone to treat the symptoms of many kidney diseases such as nephrotic syndrome, and to avoid and reverse tissue rejection following organ transplantation. The usual adult dose at the beginning of treatment ranges from 20 to 80 milligrams per day. The dose for children may be 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight, with a maximum dose of 50 milligrams.

Side Effects of Prednisone

The side effects of prednisone include adrenal suppression, which can occur with periods of prednisone use to surpass seven days. Adrenal suppression refers to the body's inability to synthesize natural corticosteroids, resulting in a dependency on the prednisone taken by the patient. This is why doctors do not recommend the cessation of prednisone when the patient has taken it for longer than seven days. They reduce the dose gradually over a few days in the case of short-term prednisone use, and over weeks or months in the case of long-term treatment. Stopping prednisone treatment abruptly can cause the life-threatening Addison's disease, in which in the body no longer produces sufficient amounts of adrenal steroid hormones.

The short-term side effects of prednisone use include high blood glucose levels. This happens most commonly in patients that are already have diabetes mellitus or are using medications that increase blood glucose. Other short-term side effects of prednisone include insomnia, euphoria and, in some cases, even mania. Using prednisone for long periods can cause side effects such as Cushing's syndrome, weight gain, osteoporosis, glaucoma and Type II diabetes mellitus. Upon withdrawal of prednisone after long-term use, patients also suffer from depression. Almost all long-term users of prednisone experience a reduction in their sex drive, as well.

Prednisone use can affect the eyes as well. The most common side effects in the context are glaucoma and cataract formation. These usually occur with topical or intraocular administration of prednisone, but they can also appear with oral, intravenous, or even inhaled administration.

Prednisone use of any period can give rise to many other side effects such as unnatural fatigue or weakness, abdominal pain, blurring of vision, peptic ulcers, infections, pain in the hips or shoulders, osteoporosis, occurrence of acne and sleeplessness. Some of the less serious side effects of prednisone include weight gain, stretch marks on the skin, swelling in the face, nervousness, increase in appetite and hyperactivity.

Doctors treat these side effects of prednisone symptomatically, since it is not always feasible to stop prednisone administration even when severe side effects occur. These are situation where they have to weigh the disadvantages of using a drug against the advantages and make an informed decision. One must remember that while prednisone definitely does give rise to many side effects, it is also a life-saving drug.