Quote:
Originally posted by crow_daw
Hmm, that's interesting gonadman. I live in a rural area, so Poison Oak/Ivy/Sumac is very common. VERY COMMON. I've just been lucky enough to somehow avoid it up until now. And people always get the shot here. Always. It's standard practice at every doctor's office and hospital.
But I'm not disagreeing with you, because I don't know enough about it to do that. I'm just saying, that's what everyone does where I'm from, and I've never heard of any unfortunate consequences.
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The shot is usually Depo-Medrol which has a long half life in the body- its usually used for joint injections to give relief for 3-4 months from arthritis pain.
The oral steroids are quick acting and out of the system quickly. Sometimes so quick that a second pack is needed for a simple episode of PI.
We get our fair share of PI here and only the older docs give the shot. Maybe the younger docs are a bit more cautious due to the whole malpractice crisis here now, but the point is the same.
Also, the side effects may be subtle and not immediately obvious- increased blood sugar, reduced immunity, reduced healing, weight gain, etc.
If its my body, I would NEVER get the shot. Go with the Medrol dose pack. Its safer