Petacort
Petacort is a steroid medicine (hydrocortisone) used to replace natural hormones, helping your body stay healthy, especially when your adrenal glands are not working properly.
Form
tabletti
Strength
20 mg
Active Ingredient
Hydrocortisone
Manufacturer
Hualan Pharmaceuticals Limited
How to Use
Dosage
Adults: 20–30 mg daily. Children: 0.4–0.8 mg per kilogram of body weight daily, divided into two or three separate doses. Your doctor will determine the exact dose.
Method
Take the tablets by mouth. If needed, the tablets can be divided into equal doses.
Important
Usually up to 30 mg daily for adults, but your doctor may adjust the dose as needed for your condition.
Possible Side Effects
COMMON
- •Feeling depressed, including thoughts of harming yourself.
- •Feeling unusually high (mania) or having quickly changing moods.
- •Feeling anxious, having trouble sleeping, difficulty thinking clearly, feeling confused, or memory loss.
- •Seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there; strange and scary thoughts; changes in behavior; or feeling alone.
RARE
- •Allergic reaction symptoms like itchy skin rash, swelling of the face, lips, or throat, or trouble breathing (wheezing).
- •Heart failure (swollen ankles, chest pain, shortness of breath, fast or irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure).
- •High blood pressure (headache, feeling unwell).
- •Thickening of the heart muscle (in premature babies).
- •Getting infections more easily, which can sometimes be life-threatening.
- •Worsening of chickenpox or measles, or tuberculosis coming back.
- •High number of red blood cells.
- •High number of white blood cells (granulocytes).
- •Low number of white blood cells (eosinophils).
- •Cancer of the lymph system (lymphoma).
- •Bleeding stomach ulcers (stomach pain, blood in stool or vomit).
- •Pancreatitis (stomach pain, discomfort).
- •Infection or sore in the throat or esophagus (difficulty swallowing, chest pain).
- •Increased pressure in the head (headache, vomiting, weakness, drowsiness) in children, usually after treatment stops.
- •Muscle weakness or muscle wasting.
- •Osteoporosis (thinning or weakening of bones, increasing fracture risk, especially in older women).
- •Bone breaks or fractures.
- •Joint inflammation in the knee and groin (aseptic necrosis).
- •Vision changes due to cataracts (cloudy eye lens).
- •Blurred vision.
- •Glaucoma (increased eye pressure).
- •Irregular or missed periods in women.
- •Developing Cushing's syndrome (rounded face, enlarged cheeks and stomach, thin limbs, red face, increased appetite).
- •Slowed growth in children.
- •Problems with adrenal and pituitary hormone production (especially after surgery, injury, or illness).
- •Hair growth on the face and body in women.
- •Sodium and fluid retention.
- •Potassium deficiency (low potassium in the body causing hypokalemic alkalosis).
- •Weight gain.
- •Increased appetite.
- •Slow wound healing.
- •Redness of the skin.
- •Easy bruising, red or purple spots, acne.
- •Incorrect results from skin tests.
- •Poor carbohydrate tolerance, high blood sugar levels (increased thirst and frequent urination).
- •Breakdown of body proteins (weight loss, muscle loss in arms and legs).
- •Loss of calcium and nitrogen.
- •Loss of potassium salts from the body (cramps and convulsions).
Important Warnings
- Do not take if you are allergic to hydrocortisone or any other ingredients in this medicine.
- Do not take if you have a stomach or duodenal ulcer.
- Do not take if you have viral, fungal, or tropical worm infections.
- Do not take if you have received a live attenuated vaccine.
- Do not take if you have had a bad reaction to this or similar medicines before.
Show 5 more warnings
- Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding.
- Do not stop taking this medicine suddenly without your doctor's advice; the dose may need to be reduced gradually.
- Avoid people with chickenpox or shingles if you've never had them. If you are exposed, contact a doctor immediately.
- Contact a doctor immediately if you (or someone taking this medicine) experience mental health issues, such as depression or suicidal thoughts.
- Tell your doctor or dentist you are taking steroids if you have an accident, get sick, or need surgery.