Cortisone Shots - Worth the Trip To The Derm? SKIN MPLS Weighs In
Like most things in life, when it seems too good to be true – it probably is. That is where we fall on the hot topic of having your acne cysts injected with cortisone.
Cortisone is a steroid that’s widely used to relieve pain and inflammation. Most of us have experienced a cyst or nodule on our face, back, or chest at some point in our lives – and it probably ruined our weekend. But for some people, they chronically fear the emergence of a large, painful cyst or nodule that has crossed the line from being inconvenient to intolerable.
Cortisone shots can basically work like magic. You go to the dermatologist, they take about 15 seconds to inject you and then place a bandaid over the lesion. About 12 hours later, the inflammation is gone and with a little makeup, no one would know the pimple was ever there. Sign me up, right? WRONG. While we are all guilty of panic decisions to eradicate our acne, this treatment can come with long-term side effects. While the cyst may go away, it can sometimes cause a depression in the skin that will stick around for weeks, months, and often permanently. Also, sometimes that pimple that was injected just erupts days, weeks, or months later – so the only thing saved was that specific special event.
Cortisone shots do nothing to prevent future breakouts and they will likely become your security blanket – and you’ll be making frequent trips to the dermatologist’s office instead of actually treating your acne. This means the likelihood of permanently scarring raises every time you get an injection. You may think a scar is better than the current cyst, but trust us – it’s not. Especially because icing, Vivant’s BP 10% Gel Medicine, Vivant’s Sulfur Clay Mask, and a professional extraction are just as effective without the long-term damage. Plus, these treatments will prevent future breakouts and future insurance bills.
Bottom line, won’t lie to you – cortisone shots DO work in the moment. They prolong the redness, scarring, and scabbing a great deal. But, they DON’T take the pimple away. They may leave you with scars that are very tricky to treat. Since you are not preventing acne, you will live in stress awaiting a future cyst. And we all know that more stress equals more acne, and the cycle continues. Break the cycle by coming up with a long-term plan to treat acne. And in the short term, we offer complimentary consultations to extract your pimple (which oftentimes the dermatologist won’t do before injecting).
It’s true, sometimes the pimple is so deep that there will be a depression scar in the skin no matter what you do – but you can combat that as much as possible by icing the lesion at least 2-3x a day. We promise it will help! Lastly, we want to be crystal clear on the number one most important rule... DON’T TRY TO PICK OR POP it yourself. Out of all your options to weigh, this is the one that simply has no pros.