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Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory medicines that prevent and reduce swelling inside the airways and decrease the amount of mucus in the lungs.
How They Are Prescribed
- Corticosteroids come in three forms:
- Inhaled using a metered dose inhaler Liquids or tablets to be swallowed (called oral corticosteroids)
- Shots
Inhaled corticosteroids are taken with a metered dose inhaler. When taken at the proper doses, they are safe medicines that work well for patients with moderate or severe asthma. They reduce the sensitivity of the airways to triggers, and they prevent swelling in the airways.
Liquid and tablet (oral) corticosteroids are used in serious asthma episodes to reduce swelling of the airways and prevent the episodes from getting even more severe. For people with moderate asthma, oral corticosteroids are sometimes used for 3 to 7 days and then stopped. People with very severe asthma may take oral corticosteroids every other morning or daily.
Shots of corticosteroids are used only in a doctor's office or emergency room for serious episodes.
Side Effects
Inhaled corticosteroids may cause a yeast infection in the mouth or bother the upper airways and cause coughing. There are two things to do to keep these things from taking place. Use a spacer device (an attachment on the inhaler) and rinse out your mouth after you take the medicine.
Using oral corticosteroids for a short time may cause different side effects. You may have a better appetite, fluid retention, weight gain, rounding of the face, changes in mood, and high blood pressure. These will stop when you quit taking the medicine, but do not stop taking this medicine without first talking to your doctor.
Oral corticosteroids used for a long time may have bad side effects such as high blood pressure, thinning of the bones, cataracts, muscle weakness, and slower growth in children. Because of these side effects, doctors should only use oral corticosteroids for a long time if a patient's asthma is serious.
Notes
Corticosteroids are not the same as the steroids used by some athletes. Inhaled corticosteroids and oral corticosteroids taken for a short time do not damage the liver and they do not cause other long-lasting changes in the body.
Children as young as 3 years of age can use inhaled corticosteroids if a holding chamber or spacer device is attached to the metered dose inhaler. Ask your doctor about this.
When oral corticosteroids are used to treat serious asthma episodes, they take about 3 hours to start working and are most effective in 6 to 12 hours.
Talk to your doctor about what to do when you forget to take your medicine on time.
(Text compiled by Virginia Thomas, CRNP)
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