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Using Cortisone Injections to Treat Acne

Understanding the Benefits, Risks

Table of Contents

Procedure

Benefits

Side Effects

Cortisone shots involve the injection of a synthetic hormone closely related to the stress hormone cortisol. It is used to provide short-term relief of inflammation and is sometimes used to help shrink large acne cysts.

Performed in the dermatologist’s office, cortisone shots can help reduce the redness, swelling, and pain of severe inflammatory acne breakouts within a few days. The technical term for this procedure is intralesional corticosteroid injection, but most people just call them steroid shots, cortisone injections, or cyst injections.

Procedure

Intralesional corticosteroid injections are used to treat deep nodules or cysts. A very dilute corticosteroid is injected directly into the blemish. Cortisone is an anti-inflammatory that shrinks the swollen wall of the cyst.

The needle used for intralesional cortisone injections is much smaller than what is used for vaccinations or blood draw. Called a micro-needle, it is barely larger than an acupuncture needle and is designed to slip into the skin with minimal pain.

The procedure is relatively quick. The injection itself is really only sore if the pimple is very large and painful. To reduce pain, your dermatologist may numb the area with topical lidocaine before getting started.

Cortisone can reduce inflammation quickly. Over the next 24 hours, you’ll notice your blemish softening, shrinking, and flattening. While it may not completely disappear, the pimple will invariably be smaller and better able to heal itself within a week.

Benefits

Cortisone shots don’t work on your run-of-the-mill pimples or reduce the build-up of pus in the swollen pustules. Instead, the shots simply shrink tissues and are reserved for large cystic blemishes. Cortisone shots can be used to treat blemishes on both the face and the body.

Using cortisone in such cases reduces the chance of scarring. This is especially valuable if you are prone to hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) after a breakout.

Among the reasons to ask your dermatologist about cortisone injections:

You have had a massive, inflamed pimple for months that will not heal.

Your blemish is a more recent issue but is incredibly swollen and painful.

You have an important event coming up (like a wedding) and just developed a breakout.

Intralesional steroid injections along with comedone extraction (the removal of blackheads) do not alter the course of the disease but can significantly improve your appearance.

Corticosteroid injections can also be used to shrink hypertrophic and keloid scars.

Side Effects

Intralesional cortisone injections may sound like a magic wand when it comes to healing big blemishes quickly. But this procedure must still be used with care as it can cause side effects.

The most common side effect is the pitting of the skin. This can occur if too much cortisone or too strong a dilution is used. The skin around the injection site can experience atrophy (tissue thinning), leaving behind a visible depression. These depressions tend to go away on their own, but, in some cases, the loss of tissue may be permanent.

If you develop permanent pitting of the skin, it isn’t necessarily caused by the injections. Severe breakouts often cause pitting irrespective of the pitting. Dermal fillers can sometimes be used to restore the skin’s normal appearance.

Cortisone shots can sometimes leave a lighter area or white spot on the skin, called hypopigmentation, especially for people with medium to dark complexions. This also tends to be temporary and will usually resolve on its own over time.