Antibiotics Used to Treat Acne

Information on acne antibiotics, accutane (isotretinoin), and acne approved hormone therapy.

When your acne gets worse, you feel helpless and desolated, to the verge of desperation. When nothing works to cure your acne, you will need to consult your physician for more advanced treatment by antibiotics. Nowadays with the advancement of medical science it is not hard to find a suitable treatment for any type of acne condition and for last few decades certain antibiotics such as Doxycycline have become immensely popular among individuals who are suffering from mild to moderate acne conditions or those who failed to find any improvement from topical treatments.

Antibiotics work by selectively killing the bacteria. They do not cause damage to the cells of the body. By killing the bacteria antibiotics reduce the infection and inflammation. Oral antibiotics are the fastest way to treat such infections.

Doxycycline being a strong antimicrobial agent acts by destroying the P. acnes bacteria deep inside the jammed skin pores. These bacteria derive a protein called lipase which is essential for their survival. This antibiotic blocks the production of this protein which in turn impedes P. acnes to perform some activities which seem to be essential for their growth and repairment of cells.

Being unable to proliferate further these acne causing bacteria eventually get exterminated from acne lesions. This significantly thwarts the infection inside skin pores. This medicine also works to mitigate cellular activities which initiate inflammatory reactions inside our cells. Thus Doxycycline helps to control the production of acne causing bacteria inside jammed hair follicles as well as it also alleviates the inflammation of acne blemishes which plays an important factor in the removal of acne.

How well does it work?

* For severe acne, it cures approximately 35-38 percent of patients after one course of treatment.
* 70 percent of the people who take Accutane® experience long-term remission.
* Adult women have higher relapse rates than teenagers.
* One course of treatment will take on average, 4-6 months.
* The daily dose is most often determined at 0.5 - 1mg per kg of your body weight.
* The total dose, that is, the total amount taken over the whole treatment period should be not less than 120mg per kg of body weight for long lasting benefit.

With most of the antibiotics used to treat acne, side effects may include photosensitivity (higher risk of sunburn), upset stomach, dizziness or lightheadedness, hives, lupus-like symptoms and skin discoloration. Some women report a higher incidence of vaginal yeast infection while taking antibiotics; these can usually be treated with over-the-counter antifungal medication or a prescription antifungal, such as diflucan. Tetracycline is not given to pregnant women or children under 12 years of age because it can discolor developing teeth.

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