Side Effects of Oral corticosteroids
Side effects of Short-term Steroid Use.
- Elevated blood sugars
- an increase in appetite,
- weight gain,
- fluid retention, and
- Neuropsychiatric effects
- -Insomnia,
- -Mood changes (feel irritable, or anxious).
Side effects of long-term steroid use (≥ 3 months).
- Diabetes
- Cataracts and glaucoma
- Hypertension
- Osteoporosis / Osteopenia
- Thromboembolic complications
- Weight gain,
- Fluid retention
- Suppressed immune system,
- Cushingoid appearance
- Thinning of the skin,
- Bruising easily,
- Muscle weakness.
- Suppressed adrenal gland function.
**Make sure to taper steroids after long-term use.
Side Effects of Inhaled corticosteroids
- Adrenal suppression,
- cataracts,
- Cough,
- dysmenorrhea,
- dysphonia,
- eosinophilia,
- glaucoma,
- hypercorticism,
- growth suppression,
- Churg-Strauss syndrome,
- oral candidiasis,
- osteoporosis
Inhaled corticosteroids for COPD: “Inhaled corticosteroids increase the risk of bruising, candidal infection of the oropharynx, and pneumonia. They also have the potential for increasing bone loss and fractures. They decrease the risk of COPD exacerbations but have no benefit on mortality and do not improve FEV1 on a consistent basis.” ABFM
Further Reading / Reference
J Clin Gastroenterol. 2001 Oct;33(4):289-94. Side effects of corticosteroid therapy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11588541
https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/az/c/corticosteroids/effects-of-corticosteroids.html