Do Antibiotics Offer a Safe, Effective Way to Treat Acne?

Acne is a problem for most people of all ages. And there is no doubt that a person experiencing an acne breakout is much more likely to experience feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem. Acne could be in form of hereditary, hormonal and just acquired. The last one is the most common because almost everyone, whether it’s in their blood or not, has experienced the unhelpful formation of acne on their skin. Of course, people would want a fast, easy and cheap way of an Acne Remedy. Nowadays, one of the most used ways to treat them is through antibiotics. Antibiotic has been proven effective to prevent acne. One, it has a property that lessens the bacteria on your skin. Two, it can clean the white blood cells from producing unnecessary chemicals. Third and the most important thing is that antibiotic can reduce the fatty acid in sebum produced by the sebaceous glands. And of course, at this point, you already know that this is one of the main causes of acne. When that oil is clogged on your pores by dead skin with the combination of bacteria, then acne would be formed.

Consider this scenario: A 37-year-old man has been plagued with recurrent flare-ups of acne since his teens. He’s been on antibiotics for two years and worried after watching his friend’s health go down the pan as a result of antibiotics. Could he be a candidate of candida? He has put on weight recently and suffers from bouts of quite severe depression. He just told his doctor he wanted to stop the antibiotics for a while. His friend, a candida sufferer, advices him to take probiotics, olive leaf extract (not just for the acne, but also for his recurrent ear infection) and a general detox diet. He also needs to cut right back on sugar, dairy, wheat and the likes.

The effectiveness of this method will depend on how red and deep the acne is. First wash your face with a mild face wash using lukewarm water. If you feel the pimple is not very deep squeeze it firmly till a little blood comes out. Wipe of the blood with a piece of cotton and squeeze again. Immediately apply generous amounts Neosporin ointment over the pimple and rub it in. Make sure the ointment goes deep inside the pore and then dab the excess Neosporin off the affected area. Neosporin is an antibiotic cream and will fight and eliminate the bacteria in the pimple. You will also need to take a reasonably strong oral antibiotic to fight the infection. Repeat this at least three times a day and each time you squeeze make sure a drop of blood comes out. This will effectively drain out the infection and help in quick healing of the micro wound caused by squeezing.

The tetracycline antibiotics are the workhorses in oral acne therapy. They’re the first-line oral antibiotic drugs of choice in the management of moderate to severe acne. They were first widely prescribed by dermatologists in the early 1950s when it was discovered that they were effective as a treatment for acne.

Of course, before you start taking prescription drugs for your acne, it is wise to try out the other more common avenues such as over-the-counter topical creams, natural treatments, and home remedies. Many people respond well to even a slight change in diet or cleaning regimen and never need antibiotics at all.

It is highly recommended that people with cystic acne should visit a dermatologist. If the patient is suffering from light to moderate cystic acne then he/she can take antibiotics which have the tendency to kill the bacterium but approximately 30%-45% of today’s cystic acne strains are resistant to one or more of the common antibiotics, making them useless. Additionally long-term use of antibiotics is associated with increased cancer risks. Many dermatologists these days give oral drugs such as Accutane and sulfa-based antibiotics for cystic acne. Oral antibiotics such as tetracycline and minocycline are also more effective for cystic acne because they work systemically. However, they can cause such side effects as photosensitivity (higher risk of sunburn), upset stomach, dizziness and skin discoloration, and must be taken for as long as four to six months.

Testosterone excess – this is a common cause of acne in younger adult females (20s and 30s). Either your ovaries produce too much testosterone or your skin produces too much of a testosterone derivative called DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Generally this type of acne will occur through your entire cycle, is often associated with oily skin and unwanted facial hair, and commonly (but not always) can affect the chest and back. The solution – a DHT blocking medicine called Spironolactone taken orally is very effective for this type of acne and is my first choice. Birth control pills can also help with this type of acne, but I only recommend these if you also need birth control (due to other unwanted side effects.)

Besides taking oral antibiotics, there are various topical antibiotics which can reduce acne outbreaks significantly when applied. Topical antibiotic gels and creams keep pores bacteria-free. It helps dry up acne while fading residual discoloration at the same time. The most common types of such antibiotics are topical Tetracycline and Erythromycin, Clindamycin lotion, and Metronidazole. Non topical acne antibiotic treatments which are also effective in treating acne are Retin-A, Avita, benzoyl peroxide, Differin gel, salicylic acid, and vitamin A derivatives.

Dermatologists have discovered that anti-inflammatory oral medications can be very effective at decreasing the severity of acne.  A new anti-inflammatory medication that has been FDA approved for the treatment of acne rosacea is controlled-release doxycycline, which works by reducing the swelling and redness associated with acne.

المصدر : عرب مكس