Panafcort is prednisone 5 mg, a corticosteroid tablet. It suppresses inflammation and calms an overactive immune system, and it is prescribed for asthma flares, severe allergic reactions, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, skin conditions and many others. How you stop it matters as much as how you take it.
What is Panafcort?
Panafcort contains prednisone 5 mg. The South African Medicine Price Registry lists it as a Schedule 4 tablet at that single strength.
Searches for a 25 mg version are common, and worth addressing: the register lists Panafcort at 5 mg here. Higher daily doses are reached by taking several tablets, which is why a course of “40 mg a day” may arrive as eight small tablets. If your pack states a different strength from your prescription, check with the pharmacist before taking it — with steroids, a counting error is a dosing error.
Prednisone is a synthetic version of cortisol, the hormone your adrenal glands make. In the body it is converted by the liver into prednisolone, the active form. (A closely named product, Panafcortelone, is prednisolone itself — used where liver conversion is unreliable.)
Corticosteroids work by switching off large parts of the inflammatory response at the level of the genes involved. That breadth is both the strength and the weakness of the class: they are extremely effective against inflammation of almost any cause, and they affect nearly every system in the body while doing it.
What is Panafcort commonly used for?
Prednisone is prescribed across a very wide range of conditions:
- Asthma and COPD flare-ups, usually as a short course of several days.
- Severe allergic reactions, hay fever that has not responded to other treatment, and drug reactions.
- Rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, lupus and other autoimmune conditions.
- Gout and severe inflammatory joint flares, where anti-inflammatories are unsuitable.
- Inflammatory bowel disease — Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis flares.
- Severe eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions.
- Some cancers and blood disorders, as part of treatment.
- Preventing transplant rejection.
- Adrenal insufficiency, replacing a hormone the body is not making.
- Severe croup, nephrotic syndrome and many conditions in children, under specialist care.
The pattern of use falls into two very different shapes. A short course — often five to seven days, sometimes at a high dose — is used to break a flare, and can usually be stopped without tapering. Long-term use is a different proposition entirely: it suppresses the body’s own cortisol production, and stopping abruptly then can be dangerous.
Prednisone treats inflammation, not its cause. Symptoms often return once the course ends if the underlying problem has not been addressed.
How Panafcort fits into this medicine category
| Group | Examples | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Oral corticosteroids | Prednisone (Panafcort, Prednisone), prednisolone, methylprednisolone | Powerful, broad anti-inflammatory and immune suppression |
| Inhaled corticosteroids | Budesonide, fluticasone | Asthma control; act locally with far fewer body-wide effects |
| Topical corticosteroids | Hydrocortisone, betamethasone | Skin conditions, applied to the affected area |
| NSAIDs | Ibuprofen, diclofenac | Milder anti-inflammatory; different risks |
| Simple analgesics | Paracetamol (Donapan) | Pain and fever only |
| Disease-modifying drugs | Methotrexate, biologics | Long-term control of autoimmune disease |
Prednisone is often the bridge: it settles a flare quickly while a slower-acting treatment takes effect. See the pain, inflammation and musculoskeletal medicines hub.
What to check before using Panafcort
Do not stop a long course suddenly. This is the single most important point. After roughly three weeks of continuous use — sometimes less — your adrenal glands reduce their own cortisol production. Stopping abruptly can precipitate an adrenal crisis: severe weakness, vomiting, low blood pressure and collapse. Long courses must be tapered on a plan from your doctor.
Carry a steroid card if you are on long-term treatment, and tell any doctor, dentist or paramedic treating you.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you:
- Have diabetes. Prednisone raises blood sugar, often substantially, and diabetes treatment may need adjusting during the course.
- Have an active infection, including TB, or have had TB in the past. Steroids suppress the immune system and can allow a dormant infection to reactivate — a genuine consideration in South Africa.
- Have high blood pressure, heart failure, stomach ulcers, glaucoma, cataracts, osteoporosis, epilepsy or liver or kidney disease.
- Have a mental health condition. Steroids can cause marked mood changes, including elation, agitation, depression and, occasionally, psychosis.
- Take anti-inflammatories, blood thinners, diabetes medicines, diuretics or anti-epileptics.
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Have not had chickenpox or measles. Avoid contact with anyone who has them, and seek advice immediately if exposed — these can be severe in someone on steroids.
- Are due for any vaccination. Live vaccines are generally avoided while on higher doses.
Practical points: take it in the morning with food, which suits the body’s own cortisol rhythm and reduces both stomach upset and sleeplessness. Take the whole course as directed, and do not adjust the dose yourself.
Possible cautions and when to ask a pharmacist or doctor
Even a short course commonly causes increased appetite, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, indigestion, fluid retention and raised blood sugar.
Longer courses add: weight gain and a rounder face, thinning skin and easy bruising, muscle weakness, osteoporosis, cataracts, glaucoma, higher blood pressure and greater susceptibility to infection. These are the reasons doctors keep courses as short and as low-dose as the condition allows — not reluctance to treat.
Get emergency help for:
- Severe weakness, vomiting, dizziness or collapse, particularly after stopping or reducing a long course — possible adrenal crisis.
- Severe abdominal pain, vomiting blood, or black tarry stools.
- Signs of serious infection — high fever, breathlessness, confusion. Steroids can mask the usual signs, so a modest fever may matter more than it looks.
- Sudden vision changes or severe eye pain.
- Severe mood disturbance, confusion or hallucinations.
Contact your doctor if blood sugars rise, if you feel unusually unwell, if mood changes are troubling you, if symptoms return as the dose reduces, or if you have been on steroids for a long time and become ill or need surgery — the dose often needs to be increased temporarily during illness, which is the opposite of what most people expect.
Related medicine guides
- Browse Pain, Inflammation & Musculoskeletal Medicines guides
- Read: Prednisone used for
- Read: Donapan used for
Frequently asked questions
What is Panafcort 5 mg used for? Suppressing inflammation and an overactive immune system — asthma flares, severe allergies, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, skin conditions and many others. It contains prednisone.
Is there a 25 mg Panafcort? The South African register lists Panafcort at 5 mg. Higher daily doses are made up from multiple tablets. Check your pack against your prescription if the numbers do not match.
Is Panafcort the same as prednisone? Yes — Panafcort is a brand of prednisone.
Is it a painkiller? No. It reduces inflammation, which often reduces pain as a result, but it does not act on pain directly.
Can I stop when I feel better? For a short course, follow the instructions you were given. For a longer course, no — stopping suddenly can be dangerous and the dose must be tapered.
Why does it keep me awake and make me hungry? Both are common steroid effects. Taking the dose in the morning helps with sleep; appetite usually settles once the course ends.
Will it affect my diabetes? Yes, it commonly raises blood sugar. Tell your doctor, monitor more closely, and expect your diabetes treatment may need temporary adjustment.
Can I drink alcohol on it? In moderation for a short course, but both irritate the stomach. Ask your doctor if you are on a long course or have stomach problems.