Antibiotic Acne Treatments
Acne is one of the most common problems of teenagers (and some older people).
Here we discuss some antibiotic acne treatments. Some acne leave scars on the face, reducing your self esteem and making you feel socially insecure.
Acne is usually caused by the increase of testosterone in adolescents both male and female, but will lessen in number and severity at the early twenties.
But since not everyone is the same, some people continue to have acne problems even beyond twenties.
There are a lot of treatments used for acne. Some may be natural or herbal, some are facial washes, and some are antibiotic acne treatments. The last is usually reserved for the bad cases of acne or severe acne breakouts.
Antibiotic Acne Treatments
New Antibiotic Acne Treatments
There are several ways in which antibiotic acne treatments work: their main aim is to decrease the size of the acne, if not totally erase it. First of all, they target the bacteria around the infected site, then they also decrease the chemicals that white blood cells release, which helps in making the acne red and inflamed. Another thing that antibiotics do is take out some of the fatty acids in the area, which also make the skin bulge. There are a lot of antibiotic acne treatments that are available in the market, but I’m just going to state a few of the most common and most effective antibiotic acne treatments usually prescribed.
First off, we have tetracycline. It is the oral medication for acne most prescribed by doctors, and dosage is usually at 500 mg twice a day until there is a decrease in the number or size of acne. After that it can be tapered off or discontinued abruptly. A thing about tetracycline is that if you want it to become effective, you should take it on an empty stomach because it does not work with food or milk. Taking tetracycline with water would be fine though. Tetracycline should not be given to pregnant women or children under 12 years of age. If you are under “the pill”, take an extra precaution during the first three weeks because tetracycline can reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills. People with kidney or liver disease are also not recommended to take in tetracycline.
More Antibiotic Acne Treatments
Erythromycin is another antibiotic that is commonly used to treat acne. Erythromycin works by reducing the number of bacteria causing acne on the layers of the skin. This helps in reducing the inflammatory response, and therefore lessens the redness that comes with acne. Another good thing about this is that erythromycin can be taken in with food, which makes it good for teenage boys who would have a hard time with tetracycline because of its dosage requirement. Erythromycin could cause nausea and stomach upset though, but unlike tetracycline, erythromycin can be taken by pregnant women. There are different types of erythromycin, so the dosage differs with the type you are using. When prescribed with erythromycin, make sure your dermatologist or doctor knows if you have liver disease, diabetes and myasthenia gravis, for the dosage may be altered for a safe treatment.
Minocycline is another one of the antibiotic acne treatments, but is less used due to its side effects, which are dizziness, vomiting, nausea, skin pigmentation and discoloration of the teeth. The last two effects are usually seen when you take minocycline for a long period of time. It is a tetracycline derivative that is most effective on the acne that is of a pustular nature. Like tetracycline, minocycline is more effective when taken with an empty stomach, but still can be absorbed even if there is food inside the stomach. Also like tetracycline, liver and kidney diseases should be informed to the health care provider treating you.
Next up is doxycycline. This drug is used on people who do not quite show progress with the other treatments listed above. It is related to tetracycline and can kill some bacteria and can also stop bacterial growth. It is used in a lot of treatments, not only for acne. It causes sensitivity to the sun and can cause the skin to be very prone to sunburns. Significant nausea is also a side effect, so food is necessary before the intake of the drug. Also, the person who treats you should know if you work outdoors or play outdoor sport or if you have stomach problems like stomach colitis so that treatment will be altered for your safe use.
Clindamycin is an antibiotic used as an oral antibiotic acne treatment, but is also very popular as a topical acne remover. It is effective at 75 to 150 mg twice a day, and its work is also to remove bacteria and treat bacterial infections. The harmful side effect of clindamycin is an intestinal infection which is called pseudomembranous colitis caused by Clostridium difficile, a bacteria.
All these antibiotics are anti-bacterial, but they do not cure viral infections like the cold and flu. A common side effect with all these treatments are candida vaginal yeast infections in women, tetracycline treated people are the most vulnerable to this. And since they all reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills, taking extra precaution is necessary when taking in antibiotic acne treatments.
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