Cortisone and prednisone, both made from adrenal hormones, join a class of good steroids regularly used to treat those who suffer from inflammations and allergies. These legal steroids are found in prescription medications and a few low-dose, over-the–counter creams and gel treatments. Asthma sufferers, people allergic to bee stings or foods, patients with emphysema and those who have arthritis or other joint and muscle pain depend on these good steroids for relief and improved life quality. If some allergies are left unmitigated by steroids, they can lead to breathing difficulty, high blood pressure and stress to the lungs or heart.
Good steroids can provide months or even years of relief. Sometimes diseases are cured as a result of the use of steroids like cortisone to stop the inflammation in body tissues which can lead to tendinitis and bursitis. Users generally report feeling significant benefits within three to 24 hours.
These beneficial medicines help counter the oft-widespread view of steroids as notorious cheating aides used mainly by athletes who wish to flout professional competition rules. They are not the same as anabolic androgenic steroids, which are solutions largely dependent on artificial testosterone. These anabolic steroids are often associated with steroid abuse, uncontrolled aggression, increased masculine development and illegal sports competitions. Good, therapeutic steroids typically utilize synthetic versions of natural hormones like cortisol, aldosterone, progesterone and estrogen. Occasionally, medications with tiny amounts of testosterone are used with other hormones to create good steroids that treat conditions such as anemia, cancer and osteoporosis.
Methods for using good steroids include muscle and intravenous (IV) injections. Individuals can also use nasal mists, pills, gels and creams. In most countries, injections must be delivered by licensed medical practitioners. While the use of illegal anabolic steroids can lead to side effects like baldness, stunted development and sexual malfunction, good steroids do not have those same adverse effects. Other side effects such as weight gain, increased blood sugar and depression are possible with good steroids, depending on the length of treatment and dosage levels.
The adrenal glands of the body produce more than 100 different types of hormones than can be used as precursors for steroids. Cortisol is the most popular and most used adrenal hormone, serving as the foundation for at least three different steroids. The popularity of cortisol in good steroids started in the 1940s when doctors realized the hormone could reduce swelling and prevent patients from going into shock.
