The medicine usually works within 1 to 2 hours. Delayed-release tablets start working in approximately 6 hours. Once you stop taking it, the medicine doesn't stay in your body for long. An immediate-release tablet reaches peak concentrations in approximately 1 to 2 hours.
You may feel the effects of prednisone within a few hours. However, it may take a few days before you see the full results of prednisone's actions on your condition. When prescribed at doses that exceed normal body levels, corticosteroids inhibit inflammation. This can reduce the signs and symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis, asthma, or skin rashes.
Corticosteroids are primarily used to reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system. There's usually no reason why a person can't use a steroid inhaler or spray, but they should be used with caution in people with ongoing infections, such as tuberculosis (TB). High-dose inhaled steroids can sometimes cause some of the more serious side effects that are most commonly related to steroid tablets (see below), but this is rare. For most people, steroid inhalers and steroid injections shouldn't cause annoying side effects.
If you need to take steroids for more than 3 weeks, your family doctor or pharmacist should arrange for them to give you a steroid card.
