If you have an allergic pet that is not responding to conventional treatment seriously consider this as a treatment option. Steroids are extremely effective for relieving severe itching and inflammation. The problem is that they can have many short and long term side effects if not used correctly. I have seen steroids grossly abused when used as a cure-all with out proper diagnosis of a condition or using other alternative treatments. At the same time I have also seen veterinarians and owners refuse to use them to alleviate severe itching and pain when they were clearly the best choice and should have been used.
Steroids are a drug, and just like any other drug they can be misused.
If used correctly they can be as safe as any other drug that we use. The problem is that they work so well that they are often overused. Because of their potential side effects, they should be used very carefully and at the lowest effective dose. They are usually reserved as one of the last lines of treatments, but if nothing else works, use the steroids. Steroids are usually administered in one of two forms, injectable and in tablet form.