Treatment of Acne

Acne treatments work by reducing oil production, dashing up skin cell turnover, fighting bacterial infection, reducing the inflammation or doing all four. With most prescription acne treatments, you'll not see results for four to eight weeks, and your skin might decline before it gets higher.

Your doctor or dermatologist might advocate a prescription medication you apply to your skin (topical medication) or take by mouth (oral medication). Oral prescription medications for acne mustn't be used throughout pregnancy, particularly throughout the primary trimester.

 

Types of acne treatments include:

• Over-the-counter topical treatments. Acne lotions might dry up the oil, kill bacteria and promote sloughing of dead skin cells. Over-the-counter (OTC) lotions are usually gentle and contain benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, resorcinol, salicylic acid or sulfur as their active ingredient. These product will be useful for terribly gentle acne. OTC acne medications might cause initial aspect effects — like skin irritation, dryness and flaking — that usually improve once the primary month of therapy.
• Topical treatments obtainable by prescription. If your acne does not answer OTC treatments, contemplate seeing a doctor or dermatologist to urge a stronger prescription lotion. Tretinoin (Avita, Retin-A, others), adapalene (Differin) and tazarotene (Tazorac, Avage) are samples of topical prescription product derived from vitamin A. They work by promoting cell turnover and preventing plugging of the hair follicles. variety of topical antibiotics are also obtainable. They work by killing excess skin bacteria.

Often, a mix of such product is needed to realize optimal results. variety of benzoyl peroxide and antibiotic combination medications are obtainable, together with completely different dose combos of benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin (Benzaclin, Duac, Acanya) and benzoyl peroxide and erythromycin (Benzamycin). Dapsone gel (Aczone) may be a newer acne treatment that is notably effective in treating inflammatory acne. Prescription topical treatments for acne might cause skin aspect effects, like stinging, burning, redness or peeling. Your doctor might advocate steps to attenuate these aspect effects, together with employing a gradually increased dose, laundry off the medication once a brief application or switching to a different medication.

• Antibiotics. For moderate to severe acne, you'll want a brief course of prescription oral antibiotics to scale back bacteria and fight inflammation. Since oral antibiotics were 1st used to treat acne, antibiotic resistance has increased considerably in individuals with acne. For this reason, your doctor doubtless can advocate petering out these medications as soon as your symptoms begin to enhance, or as soon because it becomes clear the medication are not serving to — sometimes, inside 3 to four months. In most cases, you may use topical medications and oral antibiotics along. Studies have found that using topical benzoyl peroxide along side oral antibiotics might cut back the danger of developing antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics might cause aspect effects, like an upset abdomen, dizziness or skin discoloration. These medication conjointly increase your skin's sun sensitivity and should cut back the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.
• Isotretinoin. For deep cysts, antibiotics might not be enough. Isotretinoin (Amnesteem, Claravis, Sotret) may be a powerful medication obtainable for scarring cystic acne or acne that does not answer alternative treatments. This drugs is reserved for the foremost severe sorts of acne. it's extremely effective, however those that take it want shut monitoring by a dermatologist attributable to the likelihood of severe aspect effects. Isotretinoin is related to severe birth defects, therefore it cannot be safely taken by pregnant ladies or ladies who might become pregnant throughout the course of treatment or inside many weeks of concluding treatment. In fact, the drug carries such serious potential aspect effects that girls of reproductive age should participate in an exceedingly Food and Drug Administration-approved monitoring program to receive a prescription for the drug.

Isotretinoin commonly causes aspect effects — like dry eyes, mouth, lips, nose and skin, also as itching, nosebleeds, muscle aches, sun sensitivity and poor night vision. The drug might also increase the amount of triglycerides and cholesterol within the blood and should increase liver enzyme levels.
Additionally, isotretinoin could also be related to an increased risk of depression and suicide. though this causal relationship has not been proved, doctors stay on alert for these signs in those that are taking isotretinoin. If you are feeling unusually unhappy or unable to cope whereas taking this drug, tell your doctor immediately.

• Oral contraceivespt. Oral contraceptives, together with a mix of norgestimate and ethinyl estradiol (Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Previfem, others), will improve acne in ladies. However, oral contraceptives might cause alternative aspect effects — like headaches, breast tenderness, nausea and depression — that you will need to debate along with your doctor. the foremost serious potential complication may be a slightly increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and blood clots.
• Laser and light-weight therapy. Laser- and light-based therapies reach the deeper layers of skin while not harming the skin's surface. Laser treatment is assumed to wreck the oil (sebaceous) glands, inflicting them to supply less oil. lightweight therapy targets the bacteria that cause acne inflammation. These therapies also can improve skin texture and reduce the looks of scars. a lot of analysis is required to grasp the foremost effective use of sunshine and laser therapies in acne treatment, and consultants currently advocate these approaches as stand-alone therapy solely in those that cannot tolerate approved acne medications. These therapies could also be uncomfortable and should cause temporary skin issues that mimic a severe sunburn.
• Cosmetic procedures. Chemical peels and microdermabrasion could also be useful in controlling acne. These cosmetic procedures — that have historically been used to reduce the looks of fine lines, sun harm and minor facial scars — are handiest when utilized in combination with alternative acne treatments. they will cause temporary, severe redness, scaling and blistering, and long-term discoloration of the skin.

 

Acne scar treatment
Doctors could also be ready to use bound procedures to diminish scars left by acne. These embody fillers, dermabrasion, intense lightweight therapy and laser resurfacing.

• Soft tissue fillers. Collagen or fat will be injected beneath the skin and into scars to fill out or stretch the skin, creating the scars less noticeable. Results from this acne scar treatment are temporary, therefore you wish to repeat the injections periodically.
• Chemical peels. High-potency acid is applied to your skin to get rid of the highest layer and minimize deeper scars. Some stronger peels reach even deeper into the skin.
• Dermabrasion. sometimes reserved for a lot of severe scarring, dermabrasion involves removing the highest layer of skin with a rapidly rotating wire brush. Surface scars could also be fully removed, and deeper acne scars might seem less noticeable. Dermabrasion might cause pigmentation changes for individuals with darker skin.
• Microdermabrasion. This newer acne scar treatment involves a hand-held device that blows crystals onto skin. These crystals gently abrade or "polish" the skin's surface. Then, a vacuum tube removes the crystals and skin cells. as a result of simply the surface cells are removed, the skin is not broken. However, results are refined and scars should still be noticeable, even once many sessions.
• Laser, lightweight supply and radiofrequency treatments. In laser resurfacing, a laser beam destroys the outer layer of skin (epidermis) and heats the underlying skin (dermis). because the wound heals, new skin forms. Less intense lasers (nonablative lasers), pulsed lightweight sources and radiofrequency devices do not injure the epidermis. These treatments heat the dermis and cause new skin formation. once many treatments, acne scars might seem less noticeable. this suggests shorter recovery times, however treatment usually must be repeated a lot of typically and results are refined.
• Skin surgery. A minor procedure (punch excision) cuts out individual acne scars. Stitches or a skin graft repairs the opening left at the scar website.