Why prednisolone is used

You can usually take prednisolone while you're breastfeeding. However, prednisolone can get into breast milk. If you're taking a high dose of prednisolone the baby may need to be monitored for side effects.

For safety, it's usually recommended that you wait 3 to 4 hours after taking your dose of prednisolone before feeding your baby or expressing milk. There are many medicines that interfere with the way prednisolone works, or that increase the risk of side effects. It's very important you check a medicine is safe to take with prednisolone before you start taking it. This includes some medicines that you buy over the counter like aspirin and anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen.

There's very little information about taking herbal remedies and supplements with prednisolone. For safety, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you take any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.

Steroids mimic the effects of hormones your body naturally produces in your adrenal glands. The adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys. When prescribed in doses higher than your body's usual levels, steroids like prednisolone dampen inflammation. This can reduce the symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis and asthma.

Steroids also damp down your immune system, which can help in autoimmune illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis , where your immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues. For other illnesses, you may not feel any better even though the medicine is helping you. This may be the case if you're taking prednisolone to stop your symptoms getting worse or to prevent a problem happening for example after an organ transplant.

You may need to take it for longer - even for many years or the rest of your life. If you have to take prednisolone for more than a few weeks, the chances are that you will put on weight. Prednisolone can make you hungrier and retain water, so it can be quite challenging to avoid weight gain. Try to eat well without increasing your portion sizes. Regular exercise will also help to keep your weight stable. Once you stop taking prednisolone, any issues around increased appetite or water retention should return to normal.

It can be dangerous to stop taking prednisolone suddenly, especially if you have been on a high dose for a long time. Your health condition may flare up again.

You may also get extra side effects including:. These side effects are most likely to happen if you have taken prednisolone for more than a few weeks or you take more than 40mg daily. Your doctor will probably want to reduce your dose gradually over several weeks to prevent these side effects.

Do not stop taking prednisolone without talking to your doctor - you will need to reduce the dose gradually. Taking prednisolone for many months or years can have several harmful effects on your body. It can lead to:. If you have to take prednisolone for a long time, there are steps you can take to stay as healthy as possible:.

Taking prednisolone makes you more likely to catch infections such as flu , the common cold and chest infections. Keep away from people with an infectious disease, especially chickenpox or shingles.

If you have never had these illnesses they could make you very ill. Tell your doctor straight away if you come into contact with someone who has an infectious disease such as chickenpox or shingles. Your doctor may be able to prescribe a medicine to protect you. Taking prednisolone lowers your immune system. If you have a "live" vaccine, like the shingles vaccine, while you are taking prednisolone your immune system might not be able to handle it.

This may lead to an infection. Inactive vaccinations, like the flu vaccine, are safe. If you are taking prednisolone for longer than 3 weeks, or you have been prescribed a high dose of more than 40mg daily, your doctor or pharmacist will give you a blue steroid treatment card. The card is the size of a credit card and fits in your wallet or purse. It tells you how you can reduce the risks of side effects.

It also gives details of your doctor, how much prednisolone you take and how long the treatment will last for. If you need any medical or dental treatment, show your blue steroid card to the doctor or dentist so they know that you are taking prednisolone.

For most health problems, these steroids are very similar to prednisolone in terms of how well they work and how safe they are. You may notice mood changes and mental health problems while taking prednisolone, including:. There's no firm evidence to suggest that taking prednisolone will reduce fertility in either men or women.

However, speak to a pharmacist or your doctor before taking it if you're trying to get pregnant. Prednisolone will not affect the contraceptive pill or emergency contraception.

It's thought that real liquorice increases the amount of prednisolone in the body and also increases the risk of low potassium. Page last reviewed: 22 January Next review due: 22 January Prednisolone On this page About prednisolone Key facts Who can and can't take prednisolone How and when to take it Side effects How to cope with side effects Pregnancy and breastfeeding Cautions with other medicines Common questions.

About prednisolone Prednisolone is a type of medicine known as a corticosteroid or steroid. NHS coronavirus advice As long as you have no symptoms of coronavirus infection, carry on taking your prescribed steroid medicine as usual. Updated: 20 March Help us improve our website Can you answer a quick question about your visit today? Take prednisolone once a day in the morning so it doesn't keep you awake. The most common side effects of prednisolone are insomnia, weight gain, indigestion and sweating a lot.

Prednisone can affect growth in children. Tell your doctor if your child is not growing at a normal rate while using this medicine. This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

Sometimes it is not safe to use certain medications at the same time. Some drugs can affect your blood levels of other drugs you take, which may increase side effects or make the medications less effective. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines. Many drugs can affect prednisone, especially:.

This list is not complete and many other drugs may affect prednisone. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Not all possible drug interactions are listed here. Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive.

Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient.

Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects.

If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » prednisone. Top of the page. 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. September 23, , pm EDT. What is prednisone? How does it work? What is prednisone used for? What are the side effects of prednisone? However, prednisone also has possible side effects.

These may include: Headaches Changes in mood Slowed healing of cuts and bruises Acne Fatigue Dizziness Changes in appetite Weight gain Swelling face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet Can prednisone worsen other health conditions?