Hydrocortisone is a mild steroid treatment – not to be confused with the type used by body-builders to gain muscle and strength very quickly – that is used to replace or top up cortisol levels in the body. Cortisol is a hormone normally produced by the body that is responsible for the ‘flight or fight’ response that all mammals have in moments of great danger. Sometimes the production of this hormone goes wrong, with people producing cortisol in response to long-term daily stresses instead of for intense moments of fear as it is intended, or not producing enough, which can have a diverse effect on the sufferer depending on a number of factors.
Hydrocortisone tablets are most often taken by people who, for one reason or another, cannot produce their own cortisone or whose immune response has become too sensitive, causing asthma attacks and allergic reactions to substances that are generally harmless. These include people with thyroid or adrenal gland issues, patients diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, and people with severe allergies or asthmatic attacks that regular inhalers will not ease.
Hydrocortisone is used in other forms too: as a foam for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, in the form of injections for painful joints (such as those afflicted by arthritis or inflammation), and as creams and lotions for conditions such as eczema.
Hydrocortisone tablets work by muting or muffling the body’s response to stimuli to which it tends to over-react – such as an allergy to peanuts or dog hair. Neither of these two substances are harmful in the usual way, but in the case of an allergy, the body senses a false threat and reacts with an allergic response: hives popping up on the skin, with, perhaps welts forming, itching of the skin, eyes, mouth and throat, swelling – with the added result of blocking the air pipes – and, in extreme cases the onset of anaphylactic shock in which the body’s response is so extreme that the patient’s blood pressure plummets, depriving the organs of the blood needed for good health and survival. This sudden-onset condition can be fatal unless it is treated very promptly with a shot of adrenaline or epinephrine (hence the name ‘epi pen’) and immediate medical treatment.
It is important to note that in the event of anaphylactic shock, patients must be taken to get medical treatment as soon as possible. An epi-pen can be enough of a treatment for a reaction, but very often the beneficial effects – re-opening of the airways, reduction of swelling and easing of the immune response – wear off in a short while, leaving the patient struggling once again: and this time with no handy epi-pen to come to the rescue!
Hydrocortisone is a useful and versatile medication, calming our bodies’ over-reactions to the world around us. It is used in many different ways, with the most common use probably being topically for skin conditions such as eczema, and then as a steroid treatment, in tablet form, to help the body with its provision of cortisol in those who do not naturally produce their own.
