How Long Does Prednisone Stay in Your System

Key Takeaways

• On average, for someone with an average BMI (Body Mass Index), prednisone will take anywhere from 16.5 to 22 hours to completely leave your system.

• The half life (the time it takes your body to reduce plasma levels) of prednisone is around 3 to 4 hours.

• Factors such as your metabolic rate, your age, your overall health, and combination of other prescription drugs may have an impact on the total time it would take for Prednisone to completely leave your system.

How Long Does Prednisone Stay in Your System?

Understanding the drug's half life allows us to better comprehend the overall time span the drug will stay in your system.

• Adults: The half-life is around 3 to 4 hours.

• Children: The half-life is around 1 to 2 hours.

Half-life allows us to better understand how long the drug stays within your system. To calculate, we use the 5.5 x multiplier along with the half-life averages.

• Adults: Prednisone will stay in the system for 16.5 to 22 hours.

• Children: Prednisone will stay in the system for 5.5 to 11 hours.

Body Composition and Metabolic Rate

Your body composition and basal metabolic rate may impact the amount of time that prednisone can be detected in your system. These types of factors may have an impact on the numbers above:

• Basal metabolic rate

• Age

• Weight

• Overall health

• Food intake

• Dosage

• Combination of other prescription medications you may be on

In general, the larger your body mass, the longer time it may take for the substance to completely leave your system.  Prednisone can raise blood sugar levels, potentially leading to increased body fat or diabetes in some individuals. To manage this, it's crucial to avoid indulging in high sugar like cakes, pies, cookies, jams, honey, chips, breads, candy, and highly processed foods. Stick to a high vegetable diet for your carbohydrates to help the substance completely leave your system. A high-protein and low-carbohydrate diet will not only ensure the effects of prednisone are effective, it will help avoid some of the negative side effects (like weight gain) as well.

Drug Testing Types and Prednisone Detection

On average, prednisone can be discovered in the body using the following drug testing types and their various timeframes:

• Urinalysis (Urine Sample): A study published by the National Library of Medicine found that prednisone was detected in urine as soon as 24 hours after use. After topical use (on the skin), prednisone was detectable for up to 18 hours after use.

• Blood Detection (Blood Sample): Typically, prednisone can be detected in the blood for a few days after discontinuing use. However, metabolic rate and other health factors could have an impact on these results.

• Saliva Detection (Mouth Swab Test): On average, saliva tests aren’t usually used to detect prescription prednisone but may be used to detect naturally-occurring steroid levels. 

• Hair Samples: The length of time prednisone is detectable in hair is 1 to 3 months, but this time can extend by several weeks or months depending on factors such as the dosage of prednisone and the person’s weight.

Managing Prednisone Withdrawal

If you’re coming off of prednisone, there’s a good chance that you’ll start to feel withdrawal effects. It's not uncommon to feel mild symptoms for around one week to two weeks as you taper off the substance. It’s best not to take any over-the-counter pain medicine or prescription medications without asking your doctor first. Psychological withdrawal symptoms could last anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks.

It’s possible for children to feel withdrawal symptoms after just one use of prednisone. For both children and adults, heavy mood swings, anxiety, and some bouts of depression are not uncommon to experience during this time.