Types of medicine
What Is a Corticosteroid? Steroid Medicines Explained
Corticosteroid · say it: kor-tih-koh-STEER-oydAlso written: steroid, corticosteroids, glucocorticoid, steroid medicine
Short answer
A corticosteroid is a medicine similar to the body's own hormone cortisol, used to reduce inflammation and calm the immune system.
What it means
Corticosteroids, often just called steroids, are medicines that act like cortisol, a hormone made by the adrenal glands. They reduce inflammation and calm the immune system. They are used for asthma, allergies, skin conditions, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and many other conditions. They come as tablets, injections, inhalers, nasal sprays, creams and eye drops. Examples include prednisolone, prednisone, hydrocortisone and dexamethasone.
Labels for steroid tablets and injections warn about effects that depend on the dose and how long they are used: raised blood sugar, mood and sleep changes, higher infection risk, thinning bones, weight gain and stomach problems. Longer courses should not be stopped suddenly, because the body's own steroid production may be switched down (adrenal suppression), so they are tapered. Some people are given a steroid card to carry.
These corticosteroids are different from anabolic steroids, which are related to testosterone and are sometimes misused for muscle building. Inhaled and skin steroids reach the bloodstream much less than tablets.
Where you may see it
- Labels and leaflets for prednisolone, prednisone and dexamethasone
- Steroid treatment cards
- Discharge medicine lists with a reducing course
📄 How it looks on a report
Do not stop taking this medicine abruptly if you have been taking it for more than a few weeks.
🙅 What it does not mean
- They are not the same as the anabolic steroids some people misuse for muscle.
- A steroid cream or inhaler does not carry the same risks as long courses of tablets.
- Side effects listed on the label do not all happen to everyone; many depend on dose and length of use.
🗒️ Questions to ask your doctor
💊 Medicines whose labels mention “Corticosteroid”
Plain-English explanations of each medicine, from its official FDA label.
- Albendazole
an anthelmintic drug, a medicine used to treat infections caused by parasitic worms
- Alendronate
a bisphosphonate, a medicine that slows the breakdown of bone by blocking cells called osteoclasts
- Aspirin
a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and a platelet aggregation inhibitor
- Ciprofloxacin
a fluoroquinolone antibacterial medicine
- Dexamethasone
A corticosteroid, a synthetic adrenocortical steroid medicine that lowers inflammation and suppresses the immune system
- Diclofenac Sodium
A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The FDA class is not listed on the label.
- Fluticasone Propionate
A corticosteroid, which is a steroid medicine, given as a nasal spray
- Glimepiride
a sulfonylurea, a type of oral medicine used to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes
- Glipizide
a blood-sugar-lowering medicine of the sulfonylurea type
- Hydrochlorothiazide
A thiazide diuretic, a type of medicine often called a 'water pill'
🔗 Read more from trusted sources
- “Corticosteroid” on MedlinePlus ↗
US National Library of Medicine
- NCI Dictionary definition ↗
US National Cancer Institute: “corticosteroid”
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