Question about a tiny bit of excess cortisol?

Question

If you were to receive a tiny bit of excess cortisol from a topical medication through absorption of the skin would you just have a little bit of excess cortisol in your system, or would that amount of cortisol that was absorbed not be produced naturally by your body? Please some one who really knows the answer help me out and answer this. I'd appreciate it a lot. Thank You!

Answer 1

It's likely your hypothalamic-pituitary regulatory system would take it in stride, but tiny amounts aren't really knowable.

Answer 2

To repeat what aneurodoc125 has stated, two factors that affect absorption and the pituitary-adrenal axis are the length of time of administration and the area of the body over which the steroid is applied.

The third factor is the potency of the steroid. Hydrocortisone cream is poorly absorbed and of low potency. Triamcinolone is intermediate, Halog is high. Also important is the strength and the vehicle. Gels are absorbed more than ointments which are absorbed more than creams. Occlusive dressings increase absorption and the likelihood of affecting the pituitary-adrenal axis.

Your questions sounds as if you want to quantify the effect. I think this would be very difficult.

Answer 3

It really depends on the kind of topical steroid used, and the area covered. Total body hydrocortisone might well suppress the adrenals, but it would take a lot. THe more potent topicals have less of an effect on your Pituitary-adrenal axis, in that tiny amounts are used.  Covering raw skin with HC might well increase absorption.

Re the area covered- a small patch of skin with HC has no effect. Covering the entire chest might suppress the adrenals a bit.

However, unless you used very large amounts for a long time, it would be very unlikely to have any effect systemically. Use of oral steroids for 2 weeks, for example- doses higher that you would get through the skin, do not have any lasting effect on the adrenals.

So, generally, topical steroids are pretty safe, and it would take unusual circumstances to cause something like adrenal atrophy.