Prednisone is often prescribed to help allergy sufferers cope with respiratory allergy’s inflammatory effects. Nevertheless, there are many types of allergens, intolerances and irritants for which a corticosteroid is not appropriate. Here are some of the conditions that will not be helped by prednisone:

Food Allergies

Although we’ve all known people who are allergic to peanuts or shellfish, people with legitimate food allergies are not particularly common; only 4 percent of the teenage and adult population suffers from a food allergy.

Food allergies are different from food intolerances. A food allergy is an immune response that could potentially be very dangerous to the sufferer; possibly fatal.

Food allergies are inherited conditions. People with food allergies will have had parents who suffer from hay fever or some other chronic allergy.

When a person with a food allergy consumes a food to which he or she is allergic, their bodies produce large quantities of immunoglobulin E, which attaches to certain sites throughout the body, including the digestive tract, the eyes, the lungs, the skin, the throat and the nose. Wherever the most immunoglobulin E has attached is the site that will have the most severe reaction. For example, if it has attached to the digestive tract, the sufferer will experience nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. If it has targeted the throat, air passages might swell, making breathing difficult. If it is located in the skin, hives will erupt.

The most effective treatment for food allergies is avoidance of the food that triggers the reaction. Should the food accidentally be consumed, consult a doctor immediately. People who are highly allergic to even trace amounts of certain foods should carry adrenaline with them, as well as wear a medic alert bracelet. The most common food allergens are tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish, eggs and milk.

Food intolerances

Food intolerance differs from food allergies in that intolerance is not an immune response and generally does not have the potential to be fatal, though it can be very uncomfortable.

One of the most common types of food intolerance is lactose intolerance. This occurs when the lining of the stomach does not have enough lactase to degrade the lactose in dairy products. The result is often bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Some people experience a physical intolerance to certain food additives, such as monosodium glutamate, Yellow dye number 5 and sulfites.

Skin inflammations from irritants

Certain topical reactions from the skin coming in contact with a caustic or irritating substance will not be helped by the introduction of prednisone.

These include rashes, hives, blisters or sores from contact dermatitis as a result from an irritant.

Skin irritants, such as the reaction to certain chemicals, tend to result in eruptions immediately after contact, while allergens take a day or two to gestate before a rash or hives actually appear. Also, exposure to skin irritants tends to be painful, while allergens are more of a persistent itch.