What Dosage Of Prednisone Is To Be Taken For Poison Ivy?

Posted on Wed, 27 May 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 27 May 2015 Answered on

Wed, 17 Jun 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been prescribed prednisone for poison ivy. I am 71 yrs. old, 154 lbs, 5'11". When i picked up the script I was surprised to see that the dosage was 20mg each pill and I start by taking 3 pills for 5 days, 4 for 5 days and then 1for 5 days. I have never taken such a strong doe of prednisone and the tappering off period was different. Is this the usual way to handle prednisone for poison ivy? Thank you.

the correct dosage is 3 20 mg. pills for 5 days, 2 pills for 5 days and 1 pill for 5 days. Sorry for the slip of the keyboard!

Answered by Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta (18 minutes later)

Brief answer....treatment protocol is all right
Detailed answer...
Hello,
Thanks for the query.
I have read your query and understand your concern.
The dose of prednisolone prescribed to you by doctor is correct.
The usual starting dose for oral prednisone in an adult suffeting from posion ivy symptoms is generally 1 mg per kg body weight and then this dose is tapered gradually in next 10-14 days.
So 60 mg per day of prednisolone,to start with,is correct and tapering schedule of next 10 days is also correct.
Don't worry about it and carry on with the advice of your treating doctor.
I hope it helps however you are most welcome to revert to me for any further query.
Best of luck
Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Neel Kudchadkar