Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] I have had a bad cold for two weeks. The past 2 days I have felt pressure and diminished hearing in my ears. I went to the doctor who said I had an inner ear infection. He prescribed antibiotics, an ear drop remedy and prednisone. I do not want to take the prednisone for many reasons so I was thinking of just taking the antibiotic and the ear drops. Is it ok for me not to take the prednisone? I would substitute ibuprofen instead of prednisone.
[|AI|]  Hello! Welcome to Chat Doctor !  Ibuprofen and Prednisone are not in the same family of medications and do not work in the same way. This means that neither one can be substituted for the other. Most persons with ear infections do not require steroid medications, but there may have been a particular reason that your doctor suggested it. Short-term use of steroids is usually not harmful, it is the long-term usage that can cause problems. You should consider speaking to your doctor about your concerns. I hope this helps. Hope this clarifies your concerns. Thank you for the query. Take care