The use of Corticosteroids is extended very wide. They are used in various types of diseases like: Arthritis, Rheumatic Carditis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Urticaria, Asthma, Sarcoidosis, Cerebral Oedema, Thrombocytopenia, Organ Transplantation, COVID-19 etc. In prolonged use due to the suppression of the pituitary we can have much more side effects compared with the short term therapy. That’s why we need to take care very much and that’s why in most of the cases the corticosteroids are used when simpler therapy has failed or in life threatening situations. This medicament should be used with great care, the posterior subcapsular cataracts " steroid cataract " is related to dose and duration of therapy, Elevation of intraocular pressure is a well-documented side-effect of both topical and systemic administration of corticosteroids. The onset is usually in a matter of weeks after topical, and months after systemic, therapy prolonged local or systemic therapy with corticosteroids may induce glaucoma or cause an exacerbation in patients with known chronic simple glaucoma. Some of the other ocular complications of corticosteroid therapy include decreased wound healing, increased susceptibility to infection especially by viral and fungal agents.
Herpes simplex of the cornea is a major ophthalmic problem and a simple dendritic epithelial lesion maybe converted by treatment with steroids into an extensive geographical ulcer affecting all the layers of the cornea which requiring prolonged treatment otherwise complicated to corneal scar and vision loss.