Steroid injection for Keloid

[rpera]

Hello,
I have a keloid on my chest and the dermatologist has advised steroid injections starting from next week.
I am a little scared about the injections. My question is: Is the process of injection painful? I am apprehensive about the pain when the needle is being injected into the keloid. Are the needles thin enough to be pain-free or is it going to be painful? I very much appreciate a response.
Best regards.
Ravi.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

In an expert's hands, minimal pain from the procedure is noted while relief from the pain of the inflammation occurs rapidly.

You could discuss with your doctor about the injections and whether you would need local anesthesia. The treatment of choice for keloids is usually an injection of corticosteroid drugs such as cortisone directly into the lesion.

These injections cause the keloid to become atrophic, or thinner, and are repeated every three to four weeks until the keloid has been resolved to the individual's satisfaction. Other therapies include laser treatment or radiation therapy, and topical treatments are undergoing study.

Let us know if you need any other information.

Regards.

[Rebecca_jQ]

hi,
im 16 years old teenage..last year i got injured from hot water..after that recovered from the injured after 1 month but my shoulder....my doctor already told me that my wound will leave scar...when the time for check up in hospital,doctor ask me to inject my keyloid scar with steroid...and i have to go to inject the keyloid every month....its hurt...but recently i didnt go to inject the keyloid scar for 4 month.....is there will give an bad effect of my keloid scar?i appreciate with  a response...thank you!!
Rebecca(malaysia)

[mehakchadha]

hi iam mehak iam suffering for  skin problem(keliod) since 6 years. now it is a mature keliod.i am sacred of the injection pain but my  doc. said there is not other solution to it. my doc has prescribed tricort injection is this ok??i  have read so many articles and ppl said that even after injection it reappear.please give me right guidance so that i get rid off it.iam sared of injection pain  too much and is it really re re appeared??:( :( ( i have  so many question) please reply.. waiting...

[jjenjen]

I also have a persistent keloid located on my chest that developed from a chicken pox scar 10 years ago.  I have since had several Kenalog injections that improved my condition greatly.  There is no more pain, sensitivity, or tenderness at the keloid site and there has been significant improvement visually as well.  It is much much flatter and there has been a noticable reduction in redness.

As for the pain of the injection itself, in my opinion it was really painful and very hard to endure.  It is possibly due to the location of the keloid scar (center of the chest above the bony sternum).  But I will say that it was quite worth it.  I recommend taking a pain killer an hour or so before the injection and to apply a cold pack to the site prior to the injection to numb the skin.  I also recommend bringing something to hold/squeeze, maybe even someone's hand.  These to three things are very helpful!!

Of course I'm not sure about the long term affects of the injections but I can definitely say that I've received many compliments on the improvement and that I no longer wake up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain from my scar.

[jjenjen]

I did a series of about 5 injections every 2-3 months approx five years ago and haven't had any shots since but things are still looking good.

[portia88]

I have several keloids on my back and one on my chest and behind my ears.  I have been getting injections and although they are very painful it help with making the keloid shrink.  I dont know where they came from they just started popping up on my body.  I have about four on each side of my shoulder and one on my chest which i had surgery on.  That was a bad idea.  I was only 11 and the keloid came back even bigger than before.

[Ayush03]

Hi
I had steroid injections for the first time 1 week ago and the improvement on my keloid is astounding especially after 1 week only!  I am also using Mederma on the scar which seems to be working very well.  I am also rubbing ice on my scar, patting it dry and then using Mederma over it. I then use Micropore tape over the Mederma and it seems to work very well.