text: how bad is the steroid drug prednisone for your future health ?   long terms side effects include weight gain, osteoporosis, poor wound healing, thin skin, suppression of immune system and suspectibility to infections (even weird ones), moon face, buffalo hump (the last two are abnormal fatty deposits in you face and back), muscle atrophy, worsens and can cause diabetes .  talk to your doctor about alternatives.. truth be true better to not take prednisone and suffer then take it.  in general any disease entity, there are alternatives. whether its allergies, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, psoriasis etc there are alternatives.  unfortunately, steroids is a great quick fix but depending on dose and duration of its use, it can be very detrimental to your long term health.   http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_chronic_steroid_use.html