Prednisone
Indications for use
Prednisolone is used alone or with other drugs to treat symptoms of low corticosteroid levels (lack of certain substances that are usually produced by the body and are necessary for the normal functioning of the body). Prednisone is also used to treat other conditions in patients with normal levels of corticosteroids. These conditions include certain types of arthritis; Severe allergic reactions; multiple sclerosis (a disease in which the nerves do not function properly); red (a disease in which the body attacks many of its own organs); and certain conditions that affect the lungs, skin, eyes, kidneys of the blood, thyroid, stomach, and intestines. Prednisone is also sometimes used to treat the symptoms of certain types of cancer. Prednisolone is a class of medication called corticosteroids. It works to treat patients with low levels of corticosteroids, replacing steroids, which are usually produced in the body. It works to treat other conditions by reducing swelling and redness and by changing the way the immune system works.
Precautionary measures
Before taking prednisone, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to prednisone, any other medicines, or any of the inactive ingredients in prednisone tablets or solutions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a list of inactive ingredients. Tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and nutritional supplements you are taking or planning to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone); anticoagulants ("blood thinners"), such as warfarin (Coumadin); some antifungal drugs such as fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral), and voriconazole (Vfend); aprepitant (Emend); aspirin; carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Epitol, Tegretol); Cimetidine (Tagamet); clarithromycin (Biaxin, in Prevpak); cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune); delavirdine (Rescriptor); diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac, others); dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexpak); diuretics ("water pills"); efavirenz (Sustiva); fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem); fluvoxamine (Nizhny Novgorod); griseofulvin (Fulvicin, Grifulvin, Grie-PEG); HIV protease inhibitors, including atazanavir (Reatase), indinavirom (Kriksiv), , lopinavir (in Kaletra), nelfinavir (Viracept), ritonavir (Norvir, in Kaletra), and saquinavir (Fortovaza, Invirase), hormonal contraceptives (birth control pills, patches, rings, implants, and injections); ; drugs for diabetes; nefazodone; nevirapin (Viramun); phenobarbital; phenytoin (Dilantin, Ph enytek); rifabutin (Mycobutin), rifampicin (Rifadin, Rimactane, Rifamate); sertraline (Zoloft); Troleandomycin (TAO); verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan); and zafirlukast (Accolate) .your doctor, Accurate. dose your medication or carefully monitor your side effects. Tell your doctor what herbal products you are taking or planning to take, especially St. John's wort. Tell your doctor if you have an eye infection now or have ever had an eye infection that comes and goes, and if you have or have ever had threadworms (a type of worm that can live in the body); diabetes; high blood pressure; emotional problems; mental illness; myasthenia gravis (a condition in which the muscles become weak); osteoporosis (a disease in which the bones become weak and fragile and can easily break); convulsions; tuberculosis (TB); ulcers; or liver, kidney, intestine, heart, or thyroid disease. if you resort to surgery, including dental surgery, or need emergency medical care, tell your doctor, dentist, or medical staff that you are taking or have recently stopped taking prednisone. You must carry a card or wear a bracelet with this information in case you are unable to speak in emergency medical care. do not have any vaccinations (Disease prevention shots) without consulting a doctor. You should know that prednisone can lower your ability to fight infection and can prevent you from developing symptoms if you get an infection. Stay away from people who are sick and wash their hands often while you are taking this medicine. Be sure to avoid people who have chicken pox or measles. Call your doctor if you think you may have been around someone who has chickenpox or measles.
Overdose
In case of overdose, call the local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call the local emergency services at 911.
Side effects
Prednisone can cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
- headache
- dizziness
- Difficulty falling asleep or sleep
- Complain happiness
- sudden changes in mood
- personality changes
- bulging eyes
- acne
- thin, fragile skin
- red or purple spots or lines under the skin
- slow healing of cuts and bruises
- increased hair growth
- changes in the way fat spreads throughout the body
- extreme fatigue
- weak muscles
- irregular or absent menstrual periods
- decrease in sexual desire
- heartburn
- excessive sweating
Some side effects may be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, see your doctor:
- vision problems
- eye pain, redness or tearing
- sore throat, fever, chills, cough or other signs of infection
- convulsions
- depression
- loss of contact with reality
- confusion
- muscle twitching or tightening
- shaking hands that you cannot control
- numbness, burning or tingling in the face, hands, feet, legs, or hands
- stomach upset
- vomiting
- lightheadedness
- irregular heartbeat
- sudden weight gain
- shortness of breath, especially at night
- dry, hacking cough
- swelling or abdominal pain
- swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, arms, hands, feet, ankles, or lower limbs
- difficulty breathing or swallowing
- rash
- hives
- itchy
Prednisone can slow growth and development in children. Your child's doctor will closely monitor his or her growth. Talk to your child's doctor about the risks of prednisone in your child. Prednisone may increase the risk that you will develop osteoporosis. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking prednisone and what you can do to reduce the likelihood that you will develop osteoporosis. Some patients who took prednisone or similar drugs developed a type of canceli called Kaposi's sarcoma. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking prednisone.Prednisone may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while you are taking this medication. If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the FDA's Adverse Food and Drug Administration Program.
Special diet
Your doctor may instruct you to follow a low salt, high potassium, or high calcium diet. Your doctor may also prescribe or recommend calcium or potassium supplements. Follow these instructions carefully. Talk to your doctor about eating grapefruit and drinking grapefruit juice while you are taking this medicine.
If you missed an appointment
When you start taking prednisone, ask your doctor what to do if you forget to take a dose. Write down these instructions so you can contact them later. Call your doctor or pharmacist if you miss a dose and do not know what to do. Do not take a double dose to make up the missed dose.
Additional Information
Keep all appointments with your doctor and lab. Your doctor will order certain laboratory tests to check your body's response to prednisone. If you have any skin tests, such as allergy tests or tuberculosis tests, tell your doctor or specialist that you are taking prednisone. Do not allow anyone to take medicine. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription. It is important for you to keep a written list of all prescription and non-prescription (over-the-counter) medications you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other nutritional supplements. You should bring this list with you every time you visit a doctor or if you go to the hospital. This is also not important information to carry with you in case of emergency.
What can be associated with inflammation in the body
Chronic inflammation may be accompanied by symptoms of an active inflammatory process.
The bite of a mosquito or other insect can cause severe swelling, redness and itching - all this is inflammation. You should not worry too much - most likely, it will pass in a few hours or days.
This is our body's natural reaction to injuries and infections, some of which can cause inflammation.
On the other hand, small inflammatory processes can last for a very long time, over several weeks or months.
The so-called chronic inflammation may also be accompanied by symptoms of an active inflammatory process, but attempts to cure it remain unsuccessful.
If inflammation does not go away, the danger increases. It can cause various diseases, from diabetes to heart problems, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.
Here are some of the most common causes of inflammatory processes:
Do you have excess weight
If you have a few extra pounds, an inflammatory process can begin in the fat cells.
As we age, adipose tissue attacks some cells of our body, resulting in inflammation.
Obesity in young people can trigger an alert to fat cells. The immune system begins to act in such a way as to protect your body, although in reality nothing threatens it.
Your life is mired in chaos, and stress drives you crazy
One of the most common causes of inflammation is stress, which can be acute or chronic.
Acute stress can be caused by intense feelings or fears when you are in a life-threatening situation.
Chronic stress can be caused by work or marriage problems that cause constant anxiety.
The stress hormone cortisol plays an important role in the regulation of inflammatory processes. The problem is that chronic stress can block the work of this hormone.
According to a study conducted by Rockefeller University, it can lead to uncontrolled inflammation.
Chronic stress can increase the number of inflamed white blood cells, resulting in the body becoming more vulnerable to inflammatory processes.
Intestinal bacteria
Not all bacteria are dangerous. Some of them can suppress inflammatory processes, while others can activate, depending on their nature. Be that as it may, about 70% of immune cells reside in our intestines.
This means that intestinal bacteria can affect the immune system in various ways, including becoming one of the causes of inflammation.
Some studies show that microbes that live in the intestines may be associated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.
The inflammation caused by these intestinal microbes can also worsen or alleviate the risk of developing other diseases, such as HIV.
You abuse alcohol
Physiologically, alcohol can break down in our body. This reaction produces toxic by-products that can cause inflammation. The liver is the main organ involved in the process of splitting and processing alcohol.
This means that when we drink too much alcohol, inflammation primarily develops in the liver. Too much alcohol makes it difficult for the liver to rest and get rid of toxins.
It can also cause serious problems, such as steatosis or liver obesity.
In addition, if you drink a lot of alcohol, fats accumulate in your body, which can lead to cirrhosis or hepatitis.
You are taking contraceptives
Before menopause, many women control their births through various types of contraception, including oral contraceptives.
This avoids pregnancy in adulthood, but can also be one of the causes of inflammation.
Women who take oral contraceptives in the period before menopause are more likely to suffer from inflammatory processes in the body than women who do not take them.
In 2014, the American magazine PLoS One published a study that the risk of developing inflammatory processes in women who do not take pills is minimal.
This does not mean that you need to completely abandon contraception. If you are not planning a pregnancy, consult a gynecologist for advice.
Chronic inflammation can last several weeks or months and develop in any part of the body.
If you suffer from excess weight, smoke, consume alcoholic beverages or oral contraceptives, carefully watch what happens in your body. Remember that to cope with these problems, you need to exercise, monitor your weight and eat healthy foods.
What is an allergy?
Nowadays, allergies mean a lot of diseases, which in principle cannot be of an allergic nature. Not understanding the nature and cause of the disease, people take various drugs, temporarily removing the symptoms, but they come back again and again after discontinuation of the medication. In addition, resistance to the drugs taken may develop resistance and in the case when their use is justified, the drug may not have the desired effect.
In order to get rid of allergy once and for all and to distinguish it from other diseases, we suggest reading this article, and, if you have similar symptoms, contact the Center for Allergology and Immunology at GMS Clinic.
Allergy is a disease characterized by increased sensitivity of the body to certain environmental influences, the so-called allergens, and manifested by the response of the immune system in the form of various symptoms of the disease.
An allergic reaction refers to a first-type hypersensitivity reaction, which develops in response to an allergen entering the body. When this occurs, the production of antibodies - immunoglobulins E for specific proteins. A reaction that develops during the production of immunoglobulins and is called allergic, and is manifested only when the organism is hypersensitized.
Due to the fact that sensitivity to different immunoglobulins is manifested to varying degrees, allergies can manifest mild symptoms, or have serious consequences for the whole body.
Allergic diseases can develop in people regardless of age and gender, manifesting temporary symptoms that will disappear after the disappearance of the allergen, or appear in an acute form. Since the main causes of allergy can be considered various factors - allergens, let's talk about them in more detail.
All allergens can be divided into two main types:
- Exoallergens - environmental factors that give rise to the development of an allergic reaction;
- Endoallergens are factors of the internal environment of the body that accompany the development of an allergic reaction.
Despite the fact that all people are subject to allergic reactions, some suffer from them much more than everyone else. This is due to the fact that the sensitivity of the organism is influenced not only by immunoglobulins produced in response to the allergen, but also by genetic predisposition. So, in many cases of allergy diagnostics, GMS Clinic experts consider a family history for a more accurate diagnosis.
Recently, doctors have increasingly noticed that allergic reactions occur due to excessive adherence to the rules of hygiene. The immune system does not receive the desired load, the body's resistance decreases, and, as a result, sensitivity to the most common allergens increases. In addition, the increase in allergic reactions can cause frequent consumption of chemical products.
Allergy symptoms
Allergy symptoms can manifest as with the initial exposure to allergens, as well as with long-term entry into the body and reaching a critical concentration. The first most often occurs in children, whose body is poorly adapted to environmental factors and sensitive to any unusual influences. The second type is more common in adults, and the more stable the immune system is, the longer the response to the effect of the allergen will develop.
Like any other disease, all the symptoms of allergies can be divided into several types. The first type can be attributed to the typical symptoms that patients most often call allergies:
- hives;
- cough;
- sneezing;
- swelling;
- pain in the eyes;
- nasal congestion.
Atypical symptoms include anaphylactic shock, loss of consciousness, disorientation, and others. They appear much less frequently than typical ones, and only in cases of hypersensitization of the organism or with the constant action of an allergen.
In addition, all allergic symptoms can be classified in a different way - depending on the system of organs from which the reaction occurs.
- On the part of the respiratory system - most often the symptoms that accompany respiratory allergies: attacks of dry cough, bronchospasms, irritation of the mucous surface. A distinctive feature of mucosal irritation is the inability to inhale - that is, when you try to inhale, the mucosa is so irritated that a spasm of smooth muscles of the bronchi and trachea occurs;
- On the part of the gastrointestinal tract, symptoms suitable for food and drug allergies are observed: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dehydration. Symptoms disappear within a few hours after the allergen has been eliminated;
- On the part of the circulatory system: possible changes in the blood picture, which are caused by the reaction of the immune system to an allergen. Most often, the changes relate to the number and form of leukocytes, because these blood cells are responsible for the immune response of the body;
- Skin reactions to an allergen hit are known to almost everyone: redness, hives, rashes, eczema in more severe cases - all this indicates pathogenic processes in the body. Most often, it is the skin symptoms that appear first, and only then the disease affects other organs.
It should be borne in mind that the typical symptoms may be signs of another disease, and antihistamines in this case will not help not only to cure the disease, but also just get rid of the symptoms. In this case, it is necessary to pass diagnostic tests that will give an exact answer, what is the cause of the symptoms. GMS Clinic laboratory is ready to provide all the necessary conditions for the passage of diagnostics in the shortest possible time.
In children at an early age, the body is sensitive to all types of allergies, and symptoms may even appear when exposed to seemingly ordinary factors. If, when a child grows up, the frequent appearance of symptoms continues, consult a doctor, this will help to avoid serious problems with allergies in the future.
Types of allergies
- Food allergies - individual intolerance to food;
- Drug allergies - hypersensitivity to the components of modern drugs;
- Respiratory allergies - hypersensitivity of the lung epithelial tissue to environmental allergens.
Food allergies
90% of people have some type of food allergy: taking a certain product even in the smallest amount causes an allergy. Highly allergenic products can be distinguished - the reaction to which occurs most often (sweets, chicken eggs, citrus fruits), and individual allergens that cause a response in exceptional cases.
Interestingly, the formation of food allergies occurs most often during pregnancy, if the young mother abuses allergenic products. It is manifested at any age by urticaria, angioedema, eczema and neurodermatitis. There may be more serious symptoms, both from the intestinal tract, and changes in the blood picture.
For diagnosis, skin tests and food diaries are used, in laboratory conditions - provocative tests that cause the body's immune response to the introduction of an allergen.
Drug therapy of food allergies is used extremely rarely and only to eliminate the symptoms. An effective method of struggle can be considered only the complete elimination of allergens from the diet and the selection of a special diet.
Drug allergy
Increasingly, the response to the introduction of various groups of drugs occurs in children. Most often develops together with food allergies, forming in the pathogenesis of cross-reactions to various combinations of products and drugs.
The clinical picture and symptoms vary depending on the strength of the allergen: from urticaria, nausea and small changes in the blood picture to anaphylactic shock. Diagnosis of drug allergy is not carried out, since the consequences of such tests can be life-threatening.
The treatment is carried out symptomatically when a reaction occurs in the body, and in the future it is avoided that the allergen enters the body. As a preventive measure, GMS Clinic experts advise to thoroughly substantiate one or another medication intake, avoiding the abuse of drugs that may cause allergic reactions.
Respiratory allergy
This type of allergy is called a reaction to dust, pollen, and strong odors. Symptoms occur exclusively in the respiratory system. It develops due to the interaction of exogenous and endogenous allergens, less often - under the influence of infectious factors. The severity of symptoms depends on the sensitivity and irritability of the respiratory system, as well as the depth of exposure to the allergen.
The clinical picture of respiratory allergy includes the so-called predastmic states: rhinitis, laryngitis, rhinosinusitis, tracheitis. Together with the constant exposure to the allergen, they can give an impetus to the irreversible development of bronchial asthma.
The diagnosis is made on the basis of a careful study of the clinical picture of the disease, the study of family history, the determination of allergenic factors in the domestic environment. In the period of exacerbation, clinical diagnostics of dominant allergens are carried out to further limit their influence.