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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffLong-term treatment with prednisone can cause a number of side effects, but you can take steps to help minimize them.
- Protect your bones. If you're taking cortisone, it's essential to get adequate amounts of calcium to prevent bone loss and possible fractures. Getting enough vitamin D is just as important. Not only does vitamin D improve bone health by helping calcium absorption, but it also may improve muscle strength. Scientists are continuing to study vitamin D — which may protect against certain types of cancer — to determine the optimal daily dose, but it's safe to take up to 2,000 international units (IU) a day. Strength-training and weight-bearing exercises such as walking and jogging also are essential for bone health.
- Exercise. In addition to keeping your bones strong, exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight. This is significant because cortisone tends to cause weight gain, which in turn can contribute to diabetes — another side effect of cortisone therapy. Regular exercise is also important for people dealing with the pain of neuropathy.
- Stop smoking. This is one of the most significant things you can do for your overall health. By itself, smoking causes serious health problems. It also makes problems you already have worse and can exacerbate medication side effects.
- Adopt a healthy diet. Steroids can cause high blood sugar levels and eventually, fullblown diabetes. Emphasizing foods that help keep blood sugar on an even keel, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, is key. So is having your glucose and A1C levels checked regularly.
- Keep doctor appointments. During therapy for Churg-Strauss syndrome, your doctor will monitor you closely for side effects. This will likely include regular bone scans, eye exams, and blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol checks. Be sure to keep these appointments. If caught in time, it's possible to reverse many of the side effects associated with steroid use.
References
- What is Churg Strauss syndrome? Churg Strauss Syndrome Association. http://www.cssassociation.org/about_the_syndrome.asp. Accessed Aug. 20, 2008.
- King TE. Churg-Strauss syndrome (allergic granulomatosis and angiitis). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index. Accessed Aug. 20, 2008.
- Churg Strauss syndrome. Vasculitis Foundation. http://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/churgstrausssyndrome. Accessed Aug. 20, 2008.
- Hellmich B, et al. Update on the pathogenesis of Churg-Strauss syndrome. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. 2003;21(6)(suppl):S69-S77.
- Lilly CM, et al. Asthma therapies and Churg-Strauss syndrome. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2002;109(1):S1-S19.
- Weschler ME, et al. Churg-Strauss syndrome in patients receiving montelukast as treatment for asthma. Chest. 2000;117(3):708-713.
- Hauser T, et al. The leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast and the risk of Churg-Strauss syndrome: A case-crossover study. Thorax. 2008;63:677-682.
- Tsurikisawa N, et al. Treatment of Churg-Strauss syndrome with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 2004;92(1):80-87.
