Can You Crush Prednisone Tablets?

Answer

Hello and thanks for reaching out to us! Most prednisone tablets can safely be crushed and administered with food or a beverage. Crushing the tablets will not negatively affect the drug. It is perfectly safe to do so.

However, I do want to point out that while most prednisone products are immediate-release ( and even scored to making splitting them easier), there is a 'delayed-release' version that should not be crushed or cut. The delayed-release version of prednisone is currently only available as the brand name drug, Rayos. This, again, should not be crushed as doing so will ruin the delayed-release properties of the drug.

Alternatives To Crushing Prednisone

Even though most prednisone tablets are safe to crush, there are alternatives to doing so.

Prednisone is available as an oral solution, as both a 1mg/mL solution and a 5mg/mL solution. Using the oral solution may be a less cumbersome option than crushing tablets every time you need a dose. The solution will likely be better tasting and more palatable as well.

What Is Prednisone?

Prednisone is used alone or with other medications to treat the symptoms of low corticosteroid levels (lack of certain substances that are usually produced by the body and are needed for normal body functioning). It is also used to treat other conditions in patients with normal corticosteroid levels. These conditions include certain types of arthritis; severe allergic reactions; multiple sclerosis (a disease in which the nerves do not function properly); lupus (a disease in which the body attacks many of its own organs); and certain conditions that affect the lungs, skin, eyes, kidneys blood, thyroid, stomach, and intestines.

Prednisone is also sometimes used to treat the symptoms of certain types of cancer. It is in a class of medications called corticosteroids. It works to treat patients with low levels of corticosteroids by replacing steroids that are normally produced naturally by the body. It works to treat other conditions by reducing swelling and redness and by changing the way the immune system works.

Final Words

Thanks again for your question and please feel free to reach back out if anything else comes up!