Benefits of Steroid Injections

Hey guys, My name is Dr. Lara here at Heron Lakes Animal Hospital. Today one of my clients asked me about his dog having some itchiness going on and he asked if it's okay for her to get a steroid injection. I initially told him that I wanted to see if we can try using some topical treatment because she was developing some little lesions on her belly. And so he asked me, he said is it okay for her to get steroids a few times a year? And so I told him, I said it depends. There are a few steroids out there that are long acting and we're talking about injectable steroids. You're talking about Depo Medrol or talking about triamcinolone Vetalog. Those are just some of the common ones that are used in veterinary medicine that are long acting versus something like dexamethasone or prednisone. Those are shorter acting steroids. And so normally when I'm using a steroid for a patient who's got some sort of severe itchiness or inflammation, like a urinary tract infection or something like that, it's usually going to be the dexamethasone injection. And so that is something that's very short acting. It's only in the system for maybe about two or three days that you'll notice it that, that it's probably working. That's based on what clients have been telling me and that is usually okay. You want to make sure though that you are trying to get to the underlying cause of whatever it is that's causing the itchiness or inflammation and then see if you could go ahead and try something natural like an omega 3 fatty acid turmeric aloe juice. Those are some natural anti inflammatories that should hopefully help support those systems that end up getting inflammation and, and or potentially causing itchiness. So if you guys have any other questions about the uses of steroids or any alternatives, please let me know in the comment box. Otherwise, if you found this video helpful. Thanks for watching. Give us a thumbs up. Subscribe and share. Take care.