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A steroid is a life-saving drug if it is used or consumed correctly. It is used topically or as a tablet, injection, or liquid form.
Steroids can treat many skin diseases like eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and different other diseases of our body. But some people are misusing steroids by using them for other purposes. For example, many beauty products have steroids in them.
It is a misconception that steroids can brighten our skin tone. Instead, steroids help in thinning our skin barrier, and thus the skin may look a bit lighter. It is also used for severe acne formation, skin allergy, perioral dermatitis, hypopigmentation, stretch marks, and rosacea.
This may result in some severe skin and internal issues. Those are discussed in this article.
Side effects of topical steroids on our skin
When someone uses steroids on their face or any part of the body for an extended period without proper guidance, they might face some adverse side effects of steroids rather than the benefits.
According to Dr Sheikh Salman Salam, Assistant professor (Skin & VD) at Gazi Medical College and Hospital, the common side effects of steroids on our skin are - skin atrophy thinning (thinning of skin layer), addiction to steroid application, facial hypertrichosis (facial hair), and telangiectasia.
Sides effect of topical steroids
''Along with causing harm to our skin, in some cases, I have seen many patients with systematic side effects of potent steroids on a wide area for a prolonged period of usage."
"Suppression of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, atopic dermatitis in children, and growth impairment in a growing child, both physically and mentally, if more than 30-gram steroids are applied per week for children over 3,'' Dr Salam mentioned.
Some beauty creams are also topically used on the skin, which have potent steroids and can thin our skin barrier. Using those creams and other pharmaceutical steroid creams without proper guidance makes facial veins visible because of skin thinning.
Misusing oral or injected steroids
According to Dr Salam, other than topical steroids, there are oral and injected versions too. If someone takes those for a long time without any limit and proper guidance, then some adverse side effects are pervasive among the patients.
Systematic side effects
Some systematic side effects are fat gain in the body, muscle wastage, obesity, hyperglycemia, diabetes, an increase in appetite, electrolyte imbalance in the body, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia.
Cardiac issues
Dr Salam mentioned that Congestive cardiac failure and hypertension are steroids' adverse cardiac side effects.
Effects on our nervous system
Dr Salam mentioned psychosis, depression, gastrointestinal tract(GIT), gastric ulcer, fatty change in the liver, internal inflammation, joint pain, and hypersensitivity as some side effects of steroids on the nervous system.
Effect on bones, eyes, and muscles
Osteoporosis, hypocalcemia, osteonecrosis, glaucoma, cataract, blindness, myopathy, and bacterial infection are caused by steroid misuse.
How to overcome
"A dermatologist can not give a solution for every disease," Dr Salam emphasised self-care. The patient should consult a specific doctor specialised in the required treatment.
"The patient must mention if he had used or taken any form of steroid or not. Only then the patient gets proper treatment. Use steroids only if a doctor guides you, and strictly maintain the guidelines,'' the doctor concluded with this suggestion.