Prednisolone is a type of medicine known as a corticosteroid or steroid. Corticosteroids are not the same as anabolic steroids. Prednisolone is used to treat a wide range of health problems including allergies, blood disorders, skin diseases, infections, certain cancers and to prevent organ rejection after a transplant. It helps by reducing inflammation. It also damps down your immune system, which can help in autoimmune illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis , where your immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues.
Prednisolone is available only on prescription as tablets and as a liquid to drink. It can also be given by injection but this is usually only done in hospital. As long as you have no symptoms of coronavirus infection, carry on taking your prescribed steroid medicine as usual. If you develop any coronavirus symptoms, do not stop taking your steroid medicine suddenly.
Ask your doctor about whether you need to stop taking it or not. Take our survey. The usual dose varies between 5mg and 60mg daily - 1ml of liquid prednisolone is usually equal to 10mg. Unless your doctor or pharmacist gives you different instructions, it's best to take prednisolone as a single dose once a day, straight after breakfast. For example, if your dose is 40mg daily, your doctor may tell you to take 8 tablets 8 x 5mg all at the same time.
Take prednisolone with breakfast so it doesn't upset your stomach. Taking prednisolone in the morning also means it's less likely to affect your sleep. If your prednisolone tablets are labelled as "enteric coated" or "gastro resistant", you can take these with or without food but make sure to swallow them whole.
Do not take indigestion medicines 2 hours before or after taking enteric coated or gastro resistant tablets. Sometimes, you may be advised to take prednisolone on alternate days only. The dose you'll take depends on your illness and whether you are taking prednisolone as a short course or for longer.
In children, the dose may be lower than for an adult with the same illness because it is calculated according to their height and weight. Once your illness starts to get better, it's likely that your dose will go down. Your doctor will probably reduce your dose before you stop treatment completely.
This is to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms. If you miss a dose of prednisolone, take it as soon as you remember. If you don't remember until the following day, skip the missed dose. If you forget doses often, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine. The higher the dose of prednisolone that you take, the greater the chance of side effects. You are less likely to get side effects if you take a relatively low dose of less than 20mg prednisolone daily.
Some side effects, such as stomach upset or mood changes, can happen straight away. Others, such as getting a rounder face, happen after weeks or months. Common side effects happen in more than 1 in people. Keep taking the medicine, but tell your doctor if they bother you or don't go away:. You are more likely to have a serious side effect if you take a higher dose more than 20mg daily of prednisolone or if you have been taking it for more than a few weeks.
In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to prednisolone. You could be having a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital. These are not all the side effects of prednisolone.
For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet. You can report any suspected side effect to the UK safety scheme. Long periods of prednisolone treatment can slow down the normal growth of children and teenagers. Your child's doctor will watch their growth carefully while they are taking steroids.
That way any slowing of growth can be picked up promptly and treatment changed if necessary. Talk to your doctor about the risks of giving prednisolone to your child if you are concerned.
My story showed that 1 the diagnosis of ITP responded quickly, and 2 the dose was high enough to work quickly. We will go into these two vital factors in more depth next.
Every person has a unique diagnosis, condition, or disease that requires a different level of treatment. Each person and each condition has a different level and type of inflammation. Since prednisone is an anti-inflammatory drug, the type and amount of inflammation is the key to knowing when prednisone will work.
Is it a high enough dose? The reason you take prednisone determines how long you take prednisone, how high of a dose, and when you can expect it to work. The question—is the dose high enough? Is the dose of prednisone enough to let you get out of bed to finally walk again? What about when does prednisone work for breathing; for asthma or COPD? If your doctor prescribed it for a COPD flare, prednisone will work quickly to open your airway so you can breathe easier. Most side effects are more commonly associated with use of higher doses for prolonged periods of time and disappear with the decrease and discontinuation of prednisone.
Prednisone can increase your appetite, which can lead to weight gain. When taken for long periods of time prednisone can cause you to lose calcium from your bones, which can lead to weakened bones and osteoporosis if not appropriately managed. Prednisone can cause nausea, indigestion, increased blood pressure, fluid retention, increased blood sugars, glaucoma, cataracts, difficulty sleeping, mood swings, increased cholesterol and skin changes acne, or make your skin thinner, more easily damaged and slow to heal.
The lowest dose of prednisone that controls symptoms should be used to reduce adverse effects. The duration of steroid use should also be limited. High-dose prednisone bursts often are used to suppress disease flares. High doses are used for several days until symptoms are controlled, followed by a taper to the lowest effective dose. To avoid weight gain while taking prednisone, follow a healthy diet and, if possible, exercise regularly.
To prevent calcium loss from bones, if you are taking prednisone regularly it is important to take extra calcium and vitamin D. Please speak to your healthcare provider about how much you need. If you are taking prednisone for longer periods of time 7. For people with diabetes: Prednisone can increase your blood sugar level. You might need to monitor your blood sugar level more closely. If it goes up too much, your dosage of diabetes medication might need to be changed.
For people with eye problems: Long-term prednisone use can increase your risk of getting eye infections, cataracts, or glaucoma.
Let your doctor know if you experience any vision changes or eye pain. For people with stomach problems: Prednisone can cause damage to your stomach. Let your doctor know if you experience bad stomach pain that does not go away or you get dark or bloody stools. For people with mood disorders: Prednisone may cause changes in your mood or behavior. Let your doctor know if you have changes in your mood, feel depressed, or have trouble sleeping.
For pregnant women: The delayed-release tablet Rayos is a category D pregnancy drug. That means two things:. Prednisone should only be used during pregnancy if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk. Prednisone can be passed through breast milk. For older people: As you age, your kidneys, liver, and heart may not work as well. Prednisone is processed in your liver and removed from your body through your kidneys.
It makes these organs work extra hard. For children: Children might not grow as tall if they take prednisone for several months. This dosage information is for prednisone oral tablet. All possible dosages and forms may not be included here. Your dosage, drug form, and how often you take the drug will depend on:. Dosage for children is usually based on weight. Your doctor will determine the best dosage for your child.
Older adults may process drugs more slowly. A normal adult dose may cause levels of the drug to be higher than normal. If you are ages 65 years and older, you may need a lower dose or a different dosing schedule. For immediate-release tablets only: If you have a sudden return or worsening of your MS symptoms, you may need to take mg once per day for one week.
This dosage may then be reduced to 80 mg once per day every other day for one month.
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