I fell while I was having my morning walk, fell on some gravel and have managed to take about two inches of skin off my shin. Luckily I was wearing jeans otherwise it would have been a lot worse. I’ve cleaned it up and it looks fine but my question is, should I take extra Pred because of the fall? I’m currently tapering from 6mg to five and a half msg - normally coping well - but just wondered what to do. Any advice gratefully received 🙏
Jan
If it was me (and has been a few times) I’d try to trust my body to cope and treat it kindly and only take extra Pred if you feel you need it. My theory is that it needs to stand on its own two feet at some point and if you manage it, it feels reassuring and helps you trust again . Falls can make one feel aches and pains over some days in different places with a peak at 48 hours.
Thank you so much - considering what a bang I went down with - but I got picked up by a lovely young man!! - I feel ok. And it’s good to know what my bones aren’t in bad shape! Just having a cup of coffee and two paracetamol and will then REST..........
When I fell onto grass when my adrenals were low, I felt immediately shakey and dizzy, this developed over the hour into nausea, jitters, panic and weakness. I popped 2mg (was on 4mg) and went to bed. Felt better about 6 hours later. Two weeks ago (on 0.5mg) I tripped on a rake carrying a heavy pot of soil. I hit the paving hardgiving me whiplash and I had to lie there until the whole body pain subsided. No effect other than a few hefty bruises. Didn’t need to up anything but had a glass of wine because it was Friday. No nice young men to pick me up, just my two dogs peering over me.
It really depends how much the fall affected you.
Couple of options, take an extra mg or two now if you feel particularly wobbly, or pause your reduction for a few days so you’re not reducing daily dose for a few days.
...or just see how things are, you don’t really want to take extra if not necessary....a couple of paracetamol might just take the edge off the initial shock/pain in shin. And rest your leg today.
Yes, I feel ok, just a bit spaced out 😊. I’ve just taken two paracetamol and will definitely rest today.
Thank you. Jan
OK, I am probably asking an odd question.............why did you fall?
As your skin will be thinner than normal what sort of bandage or plaster have you used.
If plaster, hopefully you have some microporous tape to hand, if you have used an ordinary plaster...............is it possible to replace it with a bandage. Ordinary plaster, when you remove it, sometimes the skin comes away with it.
If bruised, have you any arnica, both cream and tablets.......these will break up the bruising both externally and internally.
I had GCA and tripped, luckily it was a quite awesome deep scrape and as I was outside the GP's surgery, they picked me up and the Practice Nurse dealt with it all. She gave me hypo-allergenic dressing, microporous tape and sent me off to the chemist to buy a dispenser and the hyp and tape. I reckon I fell in the right place. I still have both to hand.
BTW, the receptionist brought me a cup of tea.................bliss.
Just having a cuppa - with sugar which I never normally have! - and have taken two paracetamol. I have taken the skin off legs and arms over the last three years, not necessarily for falls, just being clumsy, and am fortunate that I still heal quickly. So, yes, I’ve got the dressing and tape, but I’ve found that immediately washing with cooled boiled water works well then using the dressing.
As to why I fell, I was walking along a lane and walked into the verge to do my social distancing and unbalanced on the gravel which was covered in weeds. I normally don’t meet anybody where I walk but at least I had someone to “rescue” me 😊
The arnica tabs help with the shock of the fall. Not to be underestimated how these things affect us!
That I did not know...............I am still learning in my 8th decade.............
Personally I wouldn’t take extra. Falling is always a shock but you ought to be fine having a restful day with one or two treats thrown in. Play it by symptoms though. You’ll know.
I would stop the current taper for a few days but I wouldn't go back up unless you have to - but you will benefit from a few days of TLC.
HOWEVER - and it is a big however: a study did find that a fall like that CAN be enough to lead to a flare of PMR!
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
They say "the increase of GC dosage (almost always 10 mg/day of prednisone) prompted a fast return (seven days as average) to the previous clinical and laboratory features." And at that sort of time you don't have to taper back to the old dose.
So not only be alert for Covid-19 - be alert for any signs of a flare 
As already said halt your taper for now, take paracetamol and rest.
A fall isn’t nice and doesn’t mean an instant
increase in Pred. If symptoms worsen dramatically then a rethink might be necessary.
See how you go, once you’ve got over the shock you should be okay.
Best wishes.
Hi, I had a fall last month too and received some great advice from lovely people on here ( yiu May be able to read my post and replies?) I wasn’t sure if my ‘symptoms’ were a result of the fall but I’m now pretty sure that it triggered a flare and I was told by GP and out of hours dr to increase back up to 40mg. A dr I saw this week said that had I asked him he would have said sit it out and wait a little rather than going back up to such a big dose as I now have to taper slowly back down again. I can see you have had some great advice from members so good luck and hope you are feeling better soon.
I fell in February on concrete and did a lot of tissue damage - at the same time as doctor's were reducing my Pred doses. It can take up to 12 weeks for tissue damage to heal.
My dose has gone up becasue I now have swollen ankles and legs. Skin feels stretched, looks like plastic and goes white if pressed.
Do rest and get well.
Why would you take extra Prednisone? Just keep the scrape clean and maybe put some antibiotic cream on it!
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