Stronger steroids can cause thinning of the skin, so use them according to your doctor's instructions.

Short courses of mild steroid creams are very safe and can be bought from your pharmacist. They don't cure the problem but they do relieve itching, redness, inflammation and soreness.

They're also useful for skin irritation due to insect bites. Steroid creams and ointments come in many strengths, and are used to treat eczema, psoriasis, lichen planus and other skin conditions, to reduce inflammation. Your doctor can advise you on the safest type for you. There is some suggestion that high-dose inhaled steroids can increase your risk of pneumonia if you have COPD. That means they don't have many side effects - although they can cause a sore mouth if you don't rinse your mouth out after using them. Unless your symptoms settle naturally (this can happen with asthma) you'll need to take them regularly in the long term.īecause inhaled steroids are delivered straight to the lungs, where they're needed, the dose you take is tiny compared to that in steroid tablets. This helps reduce symptoms and flare-ups which can land you in hospital. They're called 'preventer' inhalers - they don't relieve wheezing or breathlessness in the short term, like 'reliever' inhalers, but they damp down inflammation if you use them regularly. Inhaled steroids come in a wide variety of inhaler devices, and are used mainly to treat asthma and COPD. This can cause temporary pain, so they're often injected along with a local anaesthetic. Steroid injections are often given directly into inflamed joints to reduce pain, swelling and stiffness. This includes lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. They're also prescribed for autoimmune conditions, where the body's immune system has turned on itself and is attacking part of the body. They may be given in short courses for severe flare-ups of conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hives (urticaria). Steroid tablets are used to treat serious allergic reactions like life-threatening anaphylaxis.

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