Can steroid injections treat keloid scars?

A keloid is raised scar tissue that grows beyond the original injury. A clinician places steroid medicine into the scar to reduce inflammation and excess tissue activity. This may make the keloid softer, flatter, less itchy, or less tender. Keloid tissue can be dense, so treatment is commonly planned as a series of assessments rather than judged immediately after one visit.

The injection does not erase the tendency to form keloids. The scar’s location, size, age, colour, firmness, and past response guide the choice of treatment. A diagnosis is useful before any procedure because other raised lesions can resemble a keloid.

Book an assessment with a clinician experienced in scar care. Mention any earlier surgery, piercing, injury, or treatment to the area, along with a history of skin thinning or pigment change. Ask whether injection should be paired with another method and how the scar will be monitored. Do not cut, puncture, or inject the keloid yourself, since new injury can stimulate more scar growth.

Get medical advice if a keloid becomes newly painful, hot, ulcerated, or starts draining. Seek urgent care for fever, rapidly spreading redness, marked swelling, or breathing difficulty after treatment. Rapid growth or a change that does not fit the previous scar pattern should be examined before further injections are planned.

Ask whether the lesion is a keloid, what symptom or texture change is being targeted, how recurrence will be watched for, and which combination options could protect the result.