What causes nausea when on Prednisone for asthma treatment?

Posted on Wed, 12 Mar 2014

Question: I am taking prednisone for my asthma (I am also on antibiotics for a cough), and this morning I was extremely nauseous to the point of almost throwing up. What can be done in this kind of situation?

Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (42 minutes later)

Brief Answer: prednisone and azithromycin Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic The nausea that you are experiencing may be related to prednisone or azithromycin though there are other causes as well. Both of these medications have the potential to cause gastrointestinal symptoms. Since it would be important finish the course of both medications to treat the asthma exacerbation, you can consider the following: (1) the use of probiotics can sometimes reduce the gastrointestinal symptoms associated particularly with antibiotic use. These can be used separately or in foods such as yogurt, cheese (2)using additional over the counter medications such as peptobismol or gravol. Gravol (dimehydrinate) can cause drowsiness. It is important to remember, as you would likely already know, that prednisone should be used on a full stomach to avoid irritation of the stomach. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar