does my son have adrenal insufficency? i am so stressed

[worriedmother2016]

my son is 4
he was on redipred (prednisolone)for 5 days 2 mg daily. no taper
he has been on this drug before but only for two days course this time was longer.
upon stop
his skin is red burning all over
rash on his face( malar rash)
i have taken him to a good gp which said this will go away in 6 to 8 weeks but its getting worse not better. it has already been 5 weeks
severe dry skin
thin skin
dark circles under eyes
severe sun sensitivity
this happened only after the stop of the drug
he has developed lots of sun spots
i am so worried as he will never be normal again
i cry everynight blaming myself for giving my child this drug.

[rumpled]

You cannot blame yourself for follows the advice of medical professionals! How on earth would you know he would have an adverse reaction the first time he took it? I know you feel guilty, but please, there is no way at all you would have known.
Steroids are so common and are in inhalers, nose sprays, pills, creams, shampoos, etc, that docs really don't think twice about giving them as they want the anti-inflammatory effects. Side effects happen, but the type that happened to your son are not common.

Perhaps you should find a pediatric endocrinologist and see if he has an opinion on his reaction to the steroids.

[tacolino]

Hi there.You must be having such a stressful time. Surely if the continuous symptoms listed were only caused by the drug, it would be out of his system and cleared up after 5 weeks? Does your son have other conditions or illnesses? Regarding your post its clear how much stress this is causing your family. It seems understandably so, that you feel so much to blame for the current situation. You have to focus your and your husbands mind on getting things sorted for your son. Going around riddled with guilt wont help. I would advise that you list the full symptoms on a sheet, spend a day researching a good doctor who cares and go and start the beginning of your and your sons fight back.  Put all your energy into getting him better. You ask about adrenal problems? Has he had any tests for this?
Rise from your current state and find a doc who wants to help.

[worriedmother2016]

thanks for all the replies. he was given this for persistent cough which went on for 4 months disturbing his sleep. he is prone to croup cough. i think its severe senitivity as well but i just dunno if it will wear off. when i talk to dr he keeps saying it should wear off but it just doesn't as if it has permanently changed his skin. i just dunno why drs prescribe these medications at all. and i so blame myself for just giving it to him. i cry every night just feeling like a failure and have developed severe anxiety as a result of what has happened to his skin. i have booked him with a pediatric dr in a month time. does anyone know if he will be back to normal or is this permanent? i have even become suicidal in the last 5 weeks. and my husband is very upset and i think he blames me for it as i do myself as well. The ENT who prescribed it just brushes it off and i am at loss how to handle this. any advice would be appreciated

[rumpled]

Sadly this class of drugs is very needed for so many things from rashes to infection as it reduces inflammation quickly.

There is no test for how sensitive a person is to steroids, some are more sensitive than others and it sounds like your son is sensitive.  

I would call the doctor back and let them know he is not doing well and ask for tests.

Hopefully he will come out of it, just sad it is taking so long.

[marvalrus]

You didn't say why the dr rx'd this medication. Ultimately in the end, we can only blame ourselves for giving medication to our children, but you did it because the Dr rx'd it for his condition.  I remember when my baby had a bad case of diaper rash the Derm gave me a tube of Rx cream.  Had a black box warning.  No thanks.  Now why would they do that? You have to answer these questions yourself. Needless to say we have to educate ourself before administering. 2mg prednisolone is not a physiologic dose per day so it more than likely hasn't caused Adrenal Insufficiency.  Sounds more like a continuation of the underlying cause.  Just my opinion though.