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The text only version may be available in large print, Braille or audio CD. For further information call emc accessibility on 0800 198 5000. The product code(s) for this leaflet is: PL 20072/0229.
Hydrocortisone Solution for Injection
Hydrocortisone 100mg/1ml Solution for Injection and Hydrocortisone 500mg/5ml Solution for Injection
The name of your medicine is Hydrocortisone 100mg/1ml Solution for Injection and Hydrocortisone 500mg/5ml Solution for Injection; it will be called Hydrocortisone Injection for ease here after.
Now read the rest of this leaflet. It includes other important information on the safe and effective use of this medicine that may be especially important for you.
Hydrocortisone reduces this inflammation, which could otherwise go on making your condition worse. You must take this medicine regularly to get maximum benefit from it.
1. What Hydrocortisone Injection is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you are given Hydrocortisone Injection
3. How Hydrocortisone Injection will be given
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Hydrocortisone Injection
6. Contents of the pack and other information
Hydrocortisone Injection contains the active substance hydrocortisone sodium phosphate.
Hydrocortisone Injection is a glucocorticoid used to treat adults and children. This medicine is used to treat swollen, painful joints and tendons in conditions such as, tennis elbow and golfer's elbow.
Hydrocortisone Injection can also be used to treat conditions such as severe asthma, allergic reactions, severe shock due to injury or infection or failure of the adrenal glands.
Hydrocortisone belongs to a group of medicines called steroids. Their full name is corticosteroids. These corticosteroids occur naturally in the body, and help to maintain health and well-being. Boosting your body with extra corticosteroid (such as hydrocortisone) is an effective way to treat various illnesses involving inflammation in the body.
Hydrocortisone reduces this inflammation, which could otherwise go on making your condition worse. You must use this medicine regularly to get maximum benefit from it.
Do not receive Hydrocortisone Injection:
Tell your doctor immediately if you have come into contact with anyone suffering with measles, chickenpox or shingles in the last three months.
Talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before receiving Hydrocortisone Injection :
If hydrocortisone is given to a prematurely born baby, monitoring of heart function and structure may be needed.
If any of the above applies to you, or you are not sure please tell your doctor or nurse before you are given this medicine.
Contact your doctor if you experience blurred vision or other visual disturbances.
You should see your doctor if you develop any new infections whilst using this medication. Using Hydrocortisone for a long period of time increases your chance of getting infections, which might be worse than normal and may very rarely be fatal.
If the patient is a child, it is important that the doctor monitors growth and development at intervals during treatment.
Hydrocortisone should be used with caution in the elderly as side effects can be heightened in this age group.
If you are using or have recently used (within the last 3 months) Hydrocortisone Injection and you become ill, suffer stress, get injured or are about to have a surgical procedure you must tell your doctor immediately that you are using Hydrocortisone Injection. Your dose of hydrocortisone may need to be increased (or you may have to start using it again for a short time) to prevent a sharp fall in blood pressure.
If you have been on Hydrocortisone Injection for longer than 3 weeks and wish to stop using it, do not stop suddenly as this could result in a severe drop in blood pressure which could be fatal. Your doctor will advise on how to reduce the dose you are taking.
It is important to avoid exposure to people who have chickenpox, measles or shingles, especially if you have not already had these illnesses or are not sure if you have had them. Hydrocortisone Injection increases the risk of a severe bout of chickenpox. If exposed you must contact your doctor immediately.
Mental health problems can occur while taking steroids like hydrocortisone (see also section 4 Possible Side Effects).
Talk to a doctor if you (or someone using this medicine) show any signs of mental health problems. This is particularly important if you are depressed, or might be thinking about suicide. In a few cases, mental health problems have happened when doses are being lowered or the medicine stopped altogether.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.,
The effectiveness of Hydrocortisone Injection may be altered if other medicines are being taken at the same time.
In particular, you should not be given this medicine if you are taking any of the following:
Hydrocortisone could affect the results of some tests performed by your doctor or in hospital, so tell your doctor or nurse that you are using this medicine before any tests are carried out.
Do not use this medicine with grapefruit juice as the juice will conflict with the action of this medicine.
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.
This medicine should not affect your ability to drive or use machines.
Your doctor or pharmacist will have given you a Steroid Treatment Card with your prescription or medicine.
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CARRY THIS CARD WITH YOU as it must be shown to any of the following persons:
Doctor or Nurse
Dentist
Pharmacist
Optician
This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per dosage, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
Hydrocortisone Injection will be given by a doctor or nurse.
The recommended dose is:
Adults:
For soft tissue conditions: 100 mg to 200 mg injected into or around the soft tissue daily. This daily dose may be repeated on up to three occasions.
For other conditions: 100 mg to 500 mg injected into a muscle, or injected slowly into a vein over at least 30 seconds to 1 minute (through a ‘drip’ into the vein), up to four times a day.
Use in children
25 mg to 100 mg injected into a vein. This may be repeated up to four times a day depending on the patient response.
Overdosing is unlikely. If it does happen the doctor will treat any symptoms that follow.
If you have been on hydrocortisone for longer than 3 weeks and wish to stop using it, do not stop suddenly as this could result in a severe drop in blood pressure which could be fatal. Your doctor will advise on how to reduce the dose you are taking.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or nurse.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects although not everybody gets them.
Steroids including Hydrocortisone Injection can cause severe mental health problems.
These are common in both adults and children. They can affect about five in every 100 people taking medicines like hydrocortisone. Symptoms may include:
If you notice any of these problems talk to a doctor immediately.
If you notice:
Tell your doctor immediately. These may be signs of an allergic reaction.
Thickening of the heart muscle (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) in prematurely born babies (Frequency 'Not known').
If you are given the injection into a vein, you may experience a ‘pins and needles’ type sensation. This reaction is unpleasant but harmless. It can occur in the genital area, or over the whole body.
If this happens, tell your doctor or nurse.
High doses of steroids taken for a long time, or repeated in short courses, can lead to side effects. The doctor will always give you the lowest dose possible to prevent these.
The side effects which can occur if steroids are given in high doses for a long time are listed below:
Not known: frequency cannot be estimated from the available data
Injections like these can make it easier for you to pick up infections. Infections such as chicken-pox and measles can be made worse, or TB (tuberculosis) may recur.
Kaposi's sarcoma (a type of cancer) has also been reported to occur in patients receiving corticosteroids. However, once the treatment is stopped, this may go away.
In the elderly, the side effects caused by corticosteroids may be more serious. This is especially in cases of osteoporosis (thinning of the bones), high blood pressure, low potassium levels in the blood, diabetes, higher risk of infections and thinning of the skin.
Elderly people being given Hydrocortisone Injection will be monitored closely by their doctor in order to avoid any serious side effects.
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store.
By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Hydrocortisone Injection ampoules will be stored at the healthcare centre.
They should be stored at room temperature not above 25°C and kept in the carton to protect them from light.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the label. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
The active substance is hydrocortisone (as hydrocortisone sodium phosphate).
Each 1 ml Hydrocortisone Injection ampoule contains 100 mg of the active ingredient hydrocortisone (as hydrocortisone sodium phosphate)
Each 5 ml Hydrocortisone Injection ampoule contains 500 mg of the active ingredient hydrocortisone (as hydrocortisone sodium phosphate)
The other ingredients are: disodium edetate, , formaldehyde sodium bisulphite monohydrate disodium hydrogen phosphate anhydrous, sodium acid phosphate, phosphoric acid and water for injections.
Hydrocortisone Injection is a clear, colourless to pale yellow solution, which is available in 1 ml or 5 ml clear glass ampoules.
It is available in packs containing 5 x 1 ml (100 mg) or 5 x 5 ml (500 mg) ampoules.
This leaflet was last revised in February 2024