Q: Is there an injection for acne?
A: Painful cystic acne can sometimes be treated by steroid injection. It will reduce the inflammation and therefore can shrink the acne. It will relieve the pain, redness and swelling of a cystic acne within a few days.
However, steroid injection cannot prevent acne breakouts nor clear out your acne. You ultimately still need to stick to a daily acne treatment medication that is best suited to your condition.
Steroid injection must be used with care as it can cause complications. The most common side effect is pitting of the skin. When too much steroid or too strong a dilution is used, the skin around the injection site becomes atrophied (tissue thinning) leaving behind a depression. Another complication of steroid injection is hypopigmentation, leaving a lighter area or a white spot on the skin. This is especially more obvious in people with darker complexion.
As a word of caution, steroid injections are not meant to be used as a regular acne treatment.
Dr. Tan
