Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Ann Schmidt. Expiration dates on medicines don't mean your medication will go bad on that date, it just means that the medicine is less potent and may not work effectively.
Aside from a handful of medicines that are rarely on the market, most common medicines do not become toxic after their expiration date. To prevent medicines from expiring earlier than the date on the label, keep your medications away from direct sunlight, heat, or humidity, otherwise, they may melt and become unusable.
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At times, rapid withdrawal of steroids can lead to a more severe syndrome of adrenal insufficiency. This can cause symptoms and health problems such as drops in blood pressure, as well as chemical changes in the blood such as high potassium or low sodium. Sometimes this can be set off by injuries or a surgical procedure. Because of this, make sure your doctors always know if you have been treated with steroids in the past, especially in the past year, so they can be on the alert for the development of adrenal insufficiency at times such as a surgical procedure.
Long-term steroids can suppress the protective role of your immune system and increase your risk of infection. Steroids may increase your risk of developing ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding, especially if you take these medications along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs , such as ibuprofen or aspirin.
If you are on low-dose aspirin for heart protection, your physician may want you to continue this when you take the prednisone, but might consdier adding a medication for stomach protection during the course of steroids. Steroid therapy can cause thinning of the bones osteopenia and osteoporosis , and increase the risk of bone fractures. At the beginning or before your steroid therapy, many patients will be asked to have a bone density test, especially if the steroid dose is high.
If density is low, the bone density study It will be repeated in the future to assess the effectiveness of measures you will be using to prevent bone loss. Steroids affect your metabolism and how your body deposits fat. This can increase your appetite, leading to weight gain, and in particular lead to extra deposits of fat in your abdomen. Steroids, especially in doses over 30 milligrams per day, can affect your mood. Just being aware that steroids can do this sometimes makes it less of a problem.
Sometimes, this side effect requires that the steroid dosage be decreased. When the steroids are absolutely necessary, sometimes another medication can be added to help with the mood problem. Make sure your family knows about this possible side effect.
Because cortisone is involved in regulating the body's balance of water, sodium, and other electrolytes, using these drugs can promote fluid retention and sometimes cause or worsen high blood pressure. Since cortisone is involved in maintaining normal levels of glucose sugar in the blood, long-term use may lead to elevated blood sugar or even diabetes. It is possible that steroids may increase the rate of "hardening of the arteries," which could increase the risk of heart disease.
This risk is probably much more significant if steroids are taken for more than a year, and if taken in high dose. By Theodore R. Understanding corticosteroid side effects With long-term use, corticosteroids can result in any of the following side effects.
Increased doses needed for physical stress Steroid use for over two weeks can decrease the ability of your body to respond to physical stress. Self-care tips: Discuss this possibility with the surgeon or dentist, etc. Your physician or surgeon may not feel you need to take the extra steroid at the time of surgery, but if they know you have been on corticosteroids they can watch you more carefully after surgery.
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List of Partners vendors. The use of anabolic steroids is not a new fad. When it became widely known among athletes during the s that steroids could help them build muscle or perhaps enhance their athletic performance, they have been used for that purpose.
Initially, the use of steroids was limited to "bodybuilders" and professional athletes, but the practice has now carried over into a widespread segment of society, including young athletes who aspire to someday become professionals.
It is estimated that more than one million Americans have admitted using steroids and many of them are high school students. The problem with the use of steroids is after prolonged use they can cause negative health effects. A greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke has been linked to the use of both injectable and oral steroids.
Research has found that the risk of liver damage can occur with the use of most of the oral steroids used for bodybuilding. The term "anabolic steroids" is used to refer to a group of synthetic substances that mimic the effects of male sex hormones such as testosterone.
The drugs promote in both males and females the growth of skeletal muscle anabolic effects and the development of male sexual characteristics androgenic effects.
Therefore, the proper term for these substances should be "anabolic-androgenic steroids," throughout this site, they are referred to as the more commonly used term "anabolic steroids. These are man-made substances; there is nothing "natural" about them. They are supposed to be available by prescription only. Anabolic steroids were originally developed in the s to treat hypogonadism, a medical condition in which the testes do not produce enough testosterone.
Currently, they are prescribed to treat steroid hormone deficiency, such as delayed puberty and some types of impotence. Sometimes, steroids are prescribed to counteract the wasting away of the body's muscle mass due to diseases like some cancers and HIV infection.
When early research with animals in the s found that anabolic steroids could facilitate the growth of skeletal muscle, the drugs began to be abused for that purpose by bodybuilders and weightlifters.
They later began to be abused by athletes in other sports because of their performance-enhancing capabilities. Because their use can affect the outcome of sports competitions, anabolic steroids have been banned from use by all amateur and professional sports organizations. In some countries, no prescription is needed for anabolic steroids. Therefore, most of the illicit steroids sold in gyms, competitions, and mail-order operations are smuggled into the United States.
Some steroids are produced in illegal laboratories or diverted from pharmacies. Steroidal supplements, promoted as hormone products or alternatives to anabolic steroids, are substances that claim to be converted into testosterone or similar compounds in the body.
Many of these products are marketed and labeled as dietary supplements which can increase muscle mass and strength. Up until , substances called steroid supplements could be purchased legally at health food stores and other commercial outlets.
But, in , Congress passed amendments to the Controlled Substance Act making the sale of supplements like tetrahydrogestrinone THG and androstenedione street name Andro illegal. The exception to the new laws was dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA. The U. Food and Drug Administration FDA regularly issues public health advisory warnings about bodybuilding products that are represented to contain steroids or steroid-like substances. Because these steroid supplement products could increase testosterone levels in the body like anabolic steroids themselves, it is believed that their side effects could also be the same.
Little research has been done on the side effects of these supplements, but the FDA warns they can be harmful. Depending on the type, anabolic steroids can be taken orally, injected intramuscularly, or applied through the skin as gels or creams. When used for medical purposes, anabolic steroids can be taken by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, orally, pellet implantation under the skin or by application to the skin via patches or gels. However, the size of the dosages used by steroid abusers can be much larger than those used for legitimate medical purposes.
When steroids are abused for nonmedical purposes they are usually injected or taken orally. When abusing steroids to body build or improve athletic performance, users may take dosages sometimes times the normal prescribed therapeutic dose.
Weight lifters and bodybuilders will take 10 to times normal doses. Women athletes use lower dosages than men, regardless of the sport for which they are training.
People who abuse anabolic steroids sometimes use different methods, or patterns, of usage based on their goals. Athletes may use steroids for a limited period of time to accomplish a specific goal, but bodybuilders may use steroids for long periods of time. They include:. This method involves taking multiple doses over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and then starting again. Steroids also reduce the activity of the immune system, the body's natural defence against illness and infection.
This can help treat autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus , which are caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body.
Steroid tablets are different from the anabolic steroids used illegally by some people to increase their muscle mass. Page last reviewed: 17 January Next review due: 17 January Steroid tablets.
Common examples include: prednisolone betamethasone dexamethasone hydrocortisone How and when to take steroid tablets Take your medicine as instructed by your doctor.
If you miss a dose or take too much If you forget a dose, take it as soon as you remember. Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose. Coming off treatment Do not stop taking your medicine without talking to your doctor. Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency include: feeling extremely tired feeling and being sick dizziness loss of appetite and weight loss Your original symptoms may also come back suddenly. Side effects of steroid tablets Taking steroid tablets for less than 3 weeks is unlikely to cause any significant side effects.
Side effects of steroid tablets can include: indigestion or heartburn increased appetite, which could lead to weight gain difficulty sleeping changes in mood and behaviour, such as feeling irritable or anxious an increased risk of infections — especially chickenpox , shingles and measles high blood sugar or diabetes weakening of the bones osteoporosis high blood pressure Cushing's syndrome — which can cause symptoms such as thin skin that bruises easily, a build-up of fat on the neck and shoulders and a red, puffy, rounded face eye conditions, such as glaucoma and cataracts mental health problems, such as depression or suicidal thoughts ; get an urgent GP appointment or call if this happens Most side effects will pass once treatment stops.
Coping with side effects of steroid tablets The following tips may help reduce the side effects of steroid tablets: take your tablets in the morning with breakfast although some specially coated tablets can be taken without food — this may help prevent indigestion, heartburn and sleeping difficulties eat a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly — this may help prevent weight gain and osteoporosis avoid close contact with people who are ill; especially people who have measles, chickenpox or shingles — get medical advice as soon as possible if you think you may have been exposed to someone with an infection ensure your vaccines are up-to-date — but do not have any "live" vaccines , such as the shingles vaccine Your doctor may reduce your dose or suggest taking your tablets less often for example, every other day if you're having side effects.
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