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| Pronunciation |
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 (KOR
ti sone AS e
tate) |
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| Brand Names |
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| Cortone®
Acetate |
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| Therapeutic
Categories |
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Corticosteroid, Oral; Corticosteroid, Parenteral |
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| Reasons not to take this
medicine |
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- If you have an allergy to cortisone or any other part of the medicine.
- If you have a serious
infection.
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| What is this medicine used
for? |
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- This medicine is used for the treatment of inflamed areas of the body,
severe allergies, skin problems, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
organ transplantation, leukemias/lymphomas, brain swelling, ulcerative colitis,
sarcoidosis, spinal cord injuries, Addison's disease, and arthritis.
- It is used in other diseases where the anti-inflammatory or
immunosuppressant properties are needed. Talk with healthcare provider.
- It is a replacement for your body's own
cortisol.
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| How does it work? |
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- Cortisone acetate is a man-made form of an important chemical produced
in the body.
- It puts down the body's response to the allergen (the cause of the
allergy). It reduces swelling, redness, itching, and other symptoms of allergy.
- It also reduces the body's ability to fight
infection.
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| How is it best taken? |
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- Take with food. Take in the morning if you are taking this medicine
once a day.
- Do not suddenly stop using this medicine if you have been taking it
for a long time. Medicine should be slowly
decreased.
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| What do I do if I miss a
dose? |
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- Take a missed dose as soon as possible.
- If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed one. Return to
your regular schedule.
- Do not take a double dose or extra doses.
- Do not change dose or stop taking medicine without talking with
healthcare provider.
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| What are the precautions when
taking this
medicine? |
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- Wear drug medical alert identification if you have asthma, lung
disease, or are an allergy sufferer or if you are going to be on this medicine
longer than 3-4 weeks.
- Unless healthcare provider told you to stop, it is dangerous to run
out of this medication. Get it refilled today!
- Avoid alcohol (includes wine, beer, and liquor). Alcohol increases
risk of stomach irritation or ulcers.
- If you have had a stomach ulcer or bleeding, tell healthcare provider.
Medicine can cause ulcers.
- Use caution if you have a weakened heart. Salt and water can build up
in your body. Talk with healthcare provider.
- Use caution if you are diabetic. Diabetic medicine may need
increasing. Talk with healthcare provider.
- Use caution if you have high blood pressure. Your blood pressure may
increase. Talk with healthcare provider.
- Tell dentists, surgeons, and other healthcare providers about this
medicine.
- Tell healthcare provider if you are being treated for any infections.
- Tell healthcare provider if you are allergic to any medicine. Make
sure to tell about the allergy and how it affected you. This includes telling
about rash; hives; itching; shortness of breath; wheezing; cough; swelling of
face, lips, tongue, throat; or any other symptoms involved.
- Tell healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan on getting
pregnant.
- Tell healthcare provider if you are
breast-feeding.
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| What are the common side effects
of this
medicine? |
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|
- Risk of infection. Avoid crowds and people with infections, colds, or
flu.
- High blood sugar. Can cause diabetes mellitus while on medicine,
usually reverses when stopped.
- Menstrual changes. Premenopausal women may not have a normal period.
Postmenopausal women may have bleeding and spotting.
- Weakened bones. Take calcium and vitamin D as recommended by
healthcare provider.
- Weight gain. It may cause salt and water gain. It may increase hunger
and you may eat more.
- Muscle weakness. Seen in thighs and upper arms.
- Skin changes. Can cause pimples, stretch marks, slow healing if cut,
hair growth.
- Cataracts, glaucoma with long-term use.
- Changes in fat distribution. Fat stores can move to face and back.
- Belly pain and cramps.
- Nausea or vomiting. Small frequent meals, frequent mouth care, sucking
hard candy, or chewing gum may
help.
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| What should I monitor? |
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- If a child is using this medicine, monitor growth carefully.
- Watch for swelling of legs or belly, shortness of breath, weight gain,
exercise tolerance. If any of these worsen, talk with healthcare provider.
- Report a 3-5 pound weight gain.
- Check blood sugar as ordered by healthcare provider.
- Watch for high blood sugar. Causes many trips to the bathroom, thirst,
and weight loss.
- Watch for signs of
infection.
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| Reasons to call healthcare
provider
immediately |
|
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- Signs of a life-threatening reaction. These include wheezing;
tightness in the chest; fever; itching; bad cough; blue skin color; fits;
swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat.
- Any signs or symptoms of infection. This may include a fever greater
than 99 degrees, chills, sore throat, cough, increased sputum or change in
color, painful urination, mouth sores, wound that will not heal, anal itching or
pain.
- Vaginal discharge and/or itching.
- Chest pains, fast heartbeats, shortness of breath, or decreased
ability to walk.
- Severe nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea.
- Menstrual changes. This includes lots of bleeding, spotting, or
bleeding between cycles.
- Feeling weak, tired, irritable, trembling, having rapid heartbeats,
confusion, sweating, dizzy, especially if you missed a dose or recently stopped
this medicine.
- Any rash.
- No improvement in condition or feeling
worse.
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| How should I store this
medicine? |
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- Store in a tight container at room
temperature.
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| General statements |
|
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- Do not share your medicine with others and do not take anyone else's
medicine.
- Keep all medicine out of the reach of children and pets.
- Keep a list of all your medicines (prescription, herbal/supplements,
vitamins, over-the-counter) with you. Give this list to healthcare provider
(doctor, nurse, pharmacist, physician assistant).
- Talk with healthcare provider before starting any new medicine,
including over-the-counter or natural products (herbs,
vitamins).
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Copyright © 1978-2001 Lexi-Comp Inc. All Rights Reserved
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The publisher does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the information or the consequences arising from the application, use, or misuse of any of the information contained herein, including any injury and/or damage to any person or property as a matter of product liability, negligence, or otherwise. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made in regard to the contents of this material. No claims or endorsements are made for any drugs or compounds currently marketed or in investigative use. This material is not intended as a guide to self-medication. The reader is advised to discuss the information provided here with a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, or other authorized healthcare practitioner and to check product information (including package inserts) regarding dosage, precautions, warnings, interactions, and contraindications before administering any drug, herb, or supplement discussed herein.
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