Medicines For Treating Severe Acne

Acne Medicines – An Overview

As the most common skin disorder, acne affects approximately 90% of adolescents and 25% of adult. For most acne sufferers, it’s not always easy to find the right and successful acne medicines. It’s true many acne medicines are available either by prescription or over the counter, but unfortunately there’s no “one size fits all” medicine for acne. It doesn’t exist. When we choose acne medicines, we have to take into consideration type of acne degree of acne and skin type. Common acne medicines available are:
Benzoyl Peroxide
Benzoyl Peroxide comes in form of lotions, cleansers, gels, creams. It’s available as OTC medications or in prescription. It kills bacteria that causes acne and helps to clear acne. It has proven to be effective for mild acne. It usually takes 2-3 weeks to see improvement.
Salicylic Acid
Salicylic acid comes in lotions, creams and pads. It helps to clog pores to clear lesions and and encourages skin renewal.

The right acne medicine is available, it is a matter of being educated concerning the problem and choosing the correct approach to choosing the appropriate acne medicine. As with many conditions different people will have varying degrees of success with various medications which is why its important stay informed of your options.

When using acne medicine, more is not necessarily better. In fact, it can worsen your acne. Many over-the-counter acne medicine contain active ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. Too much of either of these can cause your skin to become excessively dry or irritated which in turn may lead to more blemishes. Results are generally seen in a few weeks, but may take up to 8 weeks or more. Use the acne medicine exactly as directed, and if you don’t see any improvement talk with your dermatologist.

All acne medicines are not the same. It is important to know that over-the- counter acne medicine and prescription medications all contain different active ingredients. Each acne medicine is designed to target a specific cause of acne and degree of severity as well as to accommodate a given skin type. Some acne medicines reduce oiliness, others decrease the amount of dead skin cells that are shed and still others attack the bacteria responsible for the breakouts. Some acne medicine combine two or more acne-busting agents to attack multiple causes of acne. Over-the-counter and prescription medications come in various forms that can make a difference in their effectiveness and your comfort. They can be topical (applied to the skin) or systemic (taken orally). Acne medicine and medications can come as creams, lotions, gels, solutions, pads and foam. If you have difficulty finding the right acne medicine for your skin, talk with your dermatologist who can steer you in the right direction.

Acne can be very annoying though it won’t harm your health. Fortunately, there are different types of acne medicines available in the market.
Benzoyl Peroxide
It kills bacteria that causes acne
• Benzoyl Peroxide: Kills the bacteria that causes acne.
• Salicylic Acid: Unclogs your pores and encourages skin renewal.
• Tretinoin (Retin-A®): Promotes healthy sloughing.
• Antibiotics: Kill bacteria and reduces inflammation.
• Oral Contraceptives: Help regulate hormone levels.
• Anti-Androgens: Inhibit the body’s production of acne-causing hormones.
• Isotretinoin (Accutane®): Treatment for severe cystic or nodular acne.

Acne can become such a severe affliction that the necessity for consulting a certified medical practitioner may come up. The dermatologist will help you select medicines with the minimum harmful side effects, from which you will derive the maximum benefit. You can purchase the prescribed acne medicines from any chemist shop. It is advisable that you discuss in detail with your doctor about the possible side effects of the medication. Before you start the treatment, you may want to find out which medicines are usually prescribed for acne how the medicines work.
Benzoyl Peroxide
This is the medicine of choice. This ingredient is approved by FDA and is a component of most of the over-the-counter drugs as well. However, in prescription medicines, this is present in higher quantities. However, it produces certain side effects like making your skin dry, especially from prolonged use.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics dispel several factors that produce acne, like the causative bacteria and the inflammation associated with the infection. Antibiotics that are meant for topical application eliminate the Propionibacterium - the microorganism responsible for aggravating this skin condition. The treatment period will depend on the extent of the infection.
Some of the most frequently used antibiotics include:
Clindamycin - This is available in the form of a gel or a lotion. Patient?s suffering from ulcerative colitis and antibiotic induced colitis should stay away from this treatment. This is used as a topical medicine as ingestion can create severe intestinal disorders.
Erythromycin - This is the most commonly used antibiotic for the treatment of acne. This one has anti-inflammatory properties and is presented as a solution, gel or an ointment. Application may cause some irritation of the skin in sensitive individuals. Nausea and stomach troubles can also occur. However, the drug is quite safe, even pregnant women can use it.
Metronidazole ? This antibiotic is used in the treatment of acne resulting from is used to treat acne that is actually rosacea. This antibiotic does not have any serious side effects.
Minocycline ? This is a tetracycline derivative, valuable for acne lesions that contain pus. Various side effects include lightheadedness, nausea, and change in skin pigmentation change and discoloration of the teeth.
The treatment may initiate with a high dosage of the prescribed oral antibiotic, and the dose might gradually be reduced as the condition improves. It may take months to achieve complete cure.
Retinoids
Topical ointments having retinoids as the main ingredient are very common and effective prescription drugs for acne. Persistent acne might need oral pills. However, the ointment may make the skin overtly sensitive to sunlight. So you will need to use a sunscreen lotion with high SPF if you are on a retinoid therapy.
Oral contraceptives
These are prescribed for acne that is caused by hormonal imbalance in teenagers. These comprise a combination of estrogen and progesterone. These restrain the male hormone androgen which is supposedly responsible for excessive oil production. With less oil on the skin. The acne should recede fast.
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