If you tried all advertised acne products and nothing worked, what should you do next? You need a professional help. Visit a doctor who can give you prescription acne medication that you can’t just buy in any chemist shop. Find out what doctors usually prescribe for severe acne, and how prescription acne medicine works.
Benzoyl peroxide prescription medication
First thing dermatologists suggest is usually benzoyl peroxide. Most over the counter products include it as well, but the concentration in prescription medicine is higher. Benzoyl peroxide is FDA approved for treating acne, but it doesn’t mean that it is harmless. It dries your skin, especially if you use if for a long time.
Retinoids
Also dermatologists often prescribe retinoid based topical acne creams. If acne persists the doctor can suggest retinoid pills as well. Retinoids are effective in curing acne, but they have a downside – make your skin very sensitive to sunlight. If you are prescribed retinoid treatment, use a good sun block cream every time you go outside during the day. Even if it is cloudy, because clouds are water and water is transparent for harmful UV rays.
Chemical peels
Often dermatologists advise a chemical peel or microdermabrasion as a prescription acne treatment. The idea is that the top layer of your skin is removed, exposing new younger looking skin without acne. This types of treatment help to clean acne of your face, but if the cause is not fixed acne might come back. On the positive side, chemical peels with modern ingredients are harmless and don’t produce serious side effects.
Antibiotics
Some doctors prefer antibiotics over Retinoids or benzoyl peroxide. Antibiotics help to stop acne. Even most severe cystic acne usually goes away when treated with antibiotics. However, the treatment usually takes 4-5 weeks and this is a very long time to be on antibiotics. Antibiotics kill all bacteria in your body, but in fact a lot of bacteria are helpful for us rather than harmful. So antibiotics should really be used to cure acne only as the last resort.
Oral contraception for curing acne
Acne that is cause by hormonal imbalance in a teenage body can be cured with hormonal pills. So if Retinoids and antibiotics don’t work, sometimes doctors prescribe hormonal therapy for women who suffer from acne. In other words – birth control pills.
Usually oral contraceptives prescribed for acne are a combination of estrogen and progestin. They suppress hormones called androgens which are responsible for excessive oil production. With less oil on your face acne will go away. Oral contraceptives can be very effective to cure acne, but they only work for acne cause by hormones. And obviously this treatment is only available for women.
When discussing your prescription acne medication with your doctor ask what side effects there would be. The doctor will help you to select the medicine that would bring you most benefits without doing too much harm.