In some cases, redness and a warm feeling in the face and chest may occur after the injection. If you are a diabetic, you may experience a temporary rise in blood sugar levels. Ironically, cortisone shots may bring about a short-lived flare of inflammation and pain lasting up to 48 hours after the injection.

Doctors are often reluctant to use cortisone injections to treat neck pain because there are some significant side effects that come with their use, including:

• Cortisone flare.
• Cartilage and tendon damage.
• Blood sugar elevation.
• Infection risk.

What are the risks of an epidural steroid injection?

• “Steroid flush,” or flushing of the face and chest, with warmth and an increase in temperature for several days.
• Sleeping problems.
• Anxiety.
• Menstrual changes.
• Water retention.
• In rare instances, pain that actually increases for several days after the procedure.

Side effects can include:

• Cartilage damage.
• Death of nearby bone.
• Joint infection.
• Nerve damage.
• Temporary facial flushing.
• Temporary flare of pain and inflammation in the joint.
• Temporary increase in blood sugar.
• Tendon weakening or rupture.

After you have had a corticosteroid injection, you need to rest the affected area for 24 hours and avoid strenuous activity for several days.

There are two causes of a cortisone flare: Needle puncture: While it’s a rare reaction, your body may react to the needle injury with inflammation and pain. Crystallization: Injected cortisone can form crystals, which can irritate the soft tissues, including the lining of joints (the synovial tissue).

Although there is no way to precisely predict the body’s response to a cortisone injection, most patients will begin to feel relief of their symptoms within 48 to 72 hours after the injection. When inflammation is severe or if the condition is chronic, the cortisone might need several days to take effect.

You can take over-the-counter pain medication, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol), to try to reduce the pain if icing the area doesn’t help. Within a few days of receiving your cortisone injection, the pain from the flare should go away and you should feel relief.

When you receive a cortisone shot, numbing product will likely be applied before the injection. The shot will be administered into the affected joint. After the injection, it is important to massage the area or move it to disperse the medication.

Repeated shots can eventually damage skin and other tissues. Small amounts of cortisone that have been injected into a joint can get into the rest of the body and have hormone-like effects that make diabetes harder to control. There’s also the slight risk of the shots leading to an infection of the joint.

Answer. Commonly experienced adverse reactions from corticosteroid injections include dizziness, nervousness, facial flushing, insomnia, and transient increased appetite.

Is Cortisone a Cure or a Temporary Fix? It depends on the condition. Many times, with a simple inflammatory condition a single injection can cure the problem. On occasion, an additional follow-up injection may be necessary to “complete the job”.

How long do they last? Steroid shots usually last up to one or two months.

Anabolic steroids, commonly associated with increased athletic performance, are not in the injection product. Corticosteroids contain cortisone designed to mimic the body’s natural production of cortisol. Cortisone, like cortisol, reduces inflammation.

There is evidence that having too many steroid injections into the same area can cause damage to the tissue inside the body. Your doctor will probably recommend you don’t have more than three steroid injections into the same part of the body within a year.