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Path: utzoo!watmath!ljdickey
From: ljdickey@watmath.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Cortisone (responses)
Message-ID: <5679@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Sep-83 11:23:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: watmath.5679
Posted: Thu Sep  1 11:23:19 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 2-Sep-83 00:20:50 EDT
Sender: ljdickey@watmath.UUCP
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 40

Well, it looks like I probably had a wrong impression of cortisone.
I had a young friend in the late 50's who had some very bad side effects.
One of them was that she did not survive...
But here are three testimonials that speak for themselves.
--------
Our mutual friend, xxx, had a cortisone treatment for poison ivy several years
ago.  It worked, when nothing else did.
--------
Cortisone bad????  The only time cortisone is bad is if you are so ill that
cortisone injections are the only solution that will keep you alive!  Cortisone
is the thing that makes topical pain relievers such as Cortaid work.  With
absolutely no side effects.

If you need cortisone injections the side effects are weight gain (sometimes
very extreme) and growth of hair, especially legs, arms, and moustache.  The
last can be a real problem for some women who are embarassed by that.  I
have never heard of loss of hair from cortisone, but given the type of effects
it has on the body, I would believe it was possible.

Topical applications of cortisone-based products to burns, poison ivy, bites,
etc. would not cause any of these effects.
--------
Well, I was on a cortisone variant (Prednisone) for considerable parts
of the period 1958-1969, when I had glomerulonephrosis (also called
nephritis, but not to be confused with Bright's disease which is rather
commoner and ALSO also called nephritis).  I am informed that the disease
would probably
have been fatal if I had been born a few years earlier before cortisone had
been (a) available (b) thought of in this connection.  I've never been told
about or noticed any side effects, unless my schedule of puberty was altered
(but I don't think it was, at least much; anyway I was mostly off the drug
by then as another drug plus puberty apparently ended the disease)

I was also prescribed a cortisone variant (Fluorone) to be applied topically
to a skin rash a few weeks ago.  It cleared it up in a few days.
-- 
	Lee Dickey		(ljdickey@watmath.UUCP)
				...!allegra!watmath!ljdickey
				...!ucbvax/decvax!watmath!ljdickey
				University of Waterloo