How long should I wait to get a second Cortisone Injection

I had an acne cyst injected with dilute cortisone two days ago, and nothing has changed:  it still hurts and is still hard as a marble under the skin on the side of my nose.  I've had several injections for cysts in the past, and each time the cyst went down dramatically within 24 hours.  This time, nothing changed at all.  I'm wondering how long I should wait to get another shot.  Of course, I don't want to risk indenting...

I noticed when it was injected, that it didn't hurt much, and didn't bleed.  I'm wondering if the technician didn't get it deep enough to have any effect.  She mentioned that it "blanched" and that she tried hard not to go too deep.  Any thoughts?  I hate having this on my face!  I want it gone!  When I called the dermatology office, the technician on call told me I couldn't have it injected again for a whole month!  Is that true?

[Jasmina Jankicevic, MD, MSc, CCRP]

Welcome to the Dermatology Expert Forum!

Yes, to avoid negative side effects and complications (atrophy, telangiectasia, hypopigmentation, etc.), cortisone injections are not to be administrated frequently. If injected properly, single injection is most often effective on solitary cystic acne. However, second injection might be necessary sometimes. Please be patient. In general, these injections should not be core of therapeutic approach to nodulo-cystic acne. Make sure to discuss with your dermatologist long-term solutions for all acne lesions of yours.


Wishing You Optimal Health,
Dr. Jasmina Jankicevic