Cortisone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Cortisone is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Injectable · Tablet
- Sold as
- 2 products — Cortone and Cortisone Acetate
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
Every cortisone product we track (2)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | No data | — | View → |
What cortisone pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
| Imprint | Strength | Colour | Shape | Maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE;113 | 25 mg | white | round | — |
How long cortisone keeps
No cortisone label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Cortisone and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for cortisone: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadCortisone is a normal component of breastmilk that passes from the mother's bloodstream into milk and might have a role in intestinal maturation, the intestinal microbiome, growth, body composition or neurodevelopment, but adequate studies are lacking. Concentrations follow a diurnal rhythm, with the highest concentrations in the morning at about 7:00 am and the lowest concentrations in the late afternoon and evening. Cortisone has not been studied in breastmilk after exogenous administration in pharmacologic amounts. Although it is unlikely that dangerous amounts of cortisone would reach the infant, a better studied alternate drug might be preferred. Medium to large doses of corticosteroids given systemically or injected into joints or the breast have been reported to cause temporary reduction of lactation.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised April 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about cortisone
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 12,632 reports naming cortisone, and the FDA flagged 95% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- systemic lupus erythematosus6,296 reports
- pemphigus6,175 reports
- alopecia6,094 reports
- rheumatoid arthritis6,049 reports
- abdominal discomfort5,988 reports
- fatigue5,713 reports
- glossodynia5,562 reports
- swelling5,435 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean cortisone caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take cortisone with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run cortisone against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is cortisone sold under?
We track 2 cortisone-containing products in the U.S.: Cortone and Cortisone Acetate. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does cortisone come in?
Across the brands we track, cortisone is currently marketed as injectable and tablet, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic cortisone?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic cortisone product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Cortisone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/cortisone
- MLA
- “Cortisone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/cortisone.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for cortisone on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.