Should i be worried my son, aged 19, has just started taking prednisone (5mg) once a day and is on a loading phase of 3 tabs, 3 tabs, 3 tabs, 2, 2, and 2. he is on the last day of this phase and has started to cough and has a temp of 99. he is in pain and

It's : It's hard to know how worried to be. On the one hand, coughs are frequent this time of year and 99 degrees does not even qualify as a fever. On the other hand, he is on steroids that can decrease the immune response and allow an infection to progress. Where is his pain? Is it an old pain, related to the ankylosing spondylitis, or a new pain? Does he have any redness or sores? Is he breathing deeper or more rapidly? Is he coughing anything up? Does he feel tired and sick? If there are any other worrisome symptoms, then he should be seen immediately to prevent a worsening infection. Usually your gut can tell you when something is not right.

Why ?: Prednisone is an anti-inflammatory agent that mimics a stress hormone made by the adrenal glans in humans. They estimate we all release the equivalent of 5 mg of prednisone /d.This is a relatively low dose & fits with treating a minor issue.This is unlikely to cause "roid rage" or changes to muscles.Steroids can do a lot of good when used appropriately but there is some bad press out there