Acne Medicine

Frequently Asked Questions About Acne Medicine

The Rol of Antibiotics as an Acne Medicine

Of the different types of acne medicine that need a doctor's prescription, antibiotics are probably the most commonly used. How they work though in the treatment of acne is not exactly clear. For example, when antibiotics are used in the treatment of an infection such as a pneumonia, their effect by killing bacteria is quickly seen. However, in acne, antibiotics may take up to two months to show any improvement. As a result, many people give up before the medicine has had time to work.

Antibiotics can be used both as topical acne medicine as well as systemic acne medicine.

When used as topical acne medicine, they do not work as well as those taken orally. This may be because they do not penetrate the skin very well. Topical antibiotics do work well in acne of mild to moderate degree. And most people prefer to apply an acne medicine than to take it by mouth. However, they have to be used even when the acne has disappeared. The acne medicine has to be withdrawn gradually to minimise the appearance of new spots.

Examples of antibiotics used in topical acne medicine include tetracycline and clindamycin. As they are alcohol-based medicines, they may sting the skin. Tetracycline also has an interesting effect in very fair-skinned people - it becomes fluorescent under ultraviolet light ! So be careful when you go to a disco after having applied the acne medicine !

Both types of acne medicine break down after six to eight weeks and have to be replaced. It takes about two months before any benefit is obvious.

Systemic acne medicine includes oral antibiotics. Common examples include the tetracyclines and erythromycin. Teracyclines as a systemic acne medicine have been used since the 1950's. They have been tried and tested as acne medicines. They need to be given twice a day at the beginning until a response has been achieved. A further maintenance dose is then needed for as long as necessary. It takes as long as two to three months of using one type of acne medicine before making the decision to switch if if does not work. These drugs are not well absorbed and have to be taken on empty stomachs. Perhaps the worst news of all is that in spite of taking these acne medicines twice a day for several months, the best that can be achieved is suppression of the acne. Thus, they need to be taken until the disease goes into natural remission. This may mean being on acne medicines for six to twelve months. Some may need to be on it for even longer.

Erythromycin as a systemic acne medicine is a very useful drug. It has an excellent safety record and can be used in pregnant women. Unfortunately, if it is taken for more than a week, it can cause bacteria in the gut to become resistant to the antibiotic. Using erythromycin as an acne medicine may thus render it ineffective for more serious illness.

Antibiotics are known to be very effective as acne medicine. How they work is not exactly clear. Those with troublesome acne who consult their doctor are most likely to be given antibiotics in some form for treatment of their acne.

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Antibiotics are among the many acne medicine treatments available for acne

Most of you already know that acne is the result of skin follicles becoming jammed with sebum (body oil) and dead skin cells. This in it self is not a problem, the problem happens when the clogged pore gets infected with bacteria, the most common is Propionibacterium acnes (P.acnes) bacteria, which then leads to inflammation and giving birth to pimples, zits, whiteheads and blackheads (comedones). To prevent this condition from occurring, antibiotics are used to aid the body in killing the acne causing bacteria (p.acnes).

How Antibiotics Work

For the most part antibiotics come in tablet form and are consumed orally on an empty stomach. Once they are ingested, your body breaks them down in the stomach and allow themt o enter the blood stream. Once they have entered the blood stream, antibiotics go to work on the troubled areas by killing the bacteria, reducing free fatty acids in sebum, and reducing skin irritating chemicals produced by white blood cells.

Antibiotics are a prescribed acne medicine which cannot be purchased without a prescription from your doctor.

Types of Antibiotics

Tetracycline-

In recent years Tetracycline has become the choice antibiotic for acne by many doctors and skin care specialists. The normal dosage consists of 500 mg to be taken two times a day until such time the acne has mostly disappeared or subsided. Once this has happened, the dosage can be reduced to 250mg per day.Your doctor will make the call on when the dosage is to be adjusted.Tetracycline antibiotic is not prescribed to pregnant women due to its side-effects, which include: upset stomach, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, severe skin rash, itching, hives, and difficulty breathing or swallowing

There are only some of the possible side-effects associated with tetracycline acne antibiotic. You should contact your physician immediate should you start to experience these symptoms. Keep in mind that upset stomach and stomach cramps are the number one complaint of people taking this drug as it is recommended to be taken on an empty stomach.

Another popular antibiotic acne treatment is Minocycline which is just an off spring of tetracycline. It too has proven to be effective for treating acne,especially more pustular type of acne which is more severe than just pimples or zits. The usual starting dose is 50 to 100 mg twice a day. Major side effects of minocycline include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, skin pigmentation changes, and tooth discoloration. The skin and tooth changes are seen more often in people who have taken minocycline for a long time.

Clindamycin- A semi-synthetic antibiotic acne treatment, which comes in both oral and topical cream form. The most popular form of prescription acne medication prescribed by doctors seems to be the topical. Clindamycin has a long history of successfully treating acne. It works by reducing P. acnes and decreasing inflammation. In topical form, clindamycin has proven safe and is well tolerated antibiotic. Skin dryness and irritation are possible side effects. It is important to use as directed to decrease bacterial resistance that can occur with antibiotic use.

As you can see there are several different antibiotics acne treatments available at the discretion of your doctor to help treat your acne. However, there are also many potentially harmful side-effects associated with these types of drugs.