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When to Turn to Acne Remedies Prescriptions

Prescription Acne Remedies

If you have mild to medium forms of acne,  you can most likely treat it with over the counter acne remedies.  That is, you do not need a prescription from your dermatologist.  The top acne products that we recommend on this website all falls under the non-prescription acne remedies.

In the case where you are suffering from severe acne, you may need more stronger acne remedies to treat your acne.  In order to get access to these types of medications, you will need to visit a dermatologist to obtain a prescription.

There are two types of prescription acne remedies – pills to be taken orally and topical cream/lotion to be applied to the surface of the skin.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics can come in pills to be taken orally or as a lotion to be applied to the skin.  Common ingredients are retinoids and zinc. A popular antibiotic is tetracycline.  It kills acne-causing bacteria and reduces inflammation. Due to the severity of your acne conditions, it may take several weeks and sometimes months before you see improvements to your skin.  Your dermatologist will recommend that you continue the treatment once your acne has cleared up.  This is let the antibiotic to continue fighting the acne-cuasing bacteria and prevent it from recurring.   One of the side effects of Tetracycline is that your skin will become more sensitive to sunlight and can easily be sunburnt if you stay out in the sun too long.  Other potential side effects are dizziness, upset stomach, and hives.  If you are a female, you may have higher occurence of vaginal yeast.

Retinoids

Topical retinoids medications are mainly used to treat whiteheads and blackheads and are more directed at medium form of acne.

Oral retinoids medications, on the other hand, are used to treat severe forms of acne.  It causes the skin to peel, thus opening the pores.  It also makes the body produces less sebum which causes oily skin.  The potential side effects for oral retinoids are depression and liver damage.  If you are pregnant, there is also a possibility of birth defects.  So please discuss the use of oral retinods medications with your dermatologist/doctor. 

Other Topical Acne Remedies

Other popular topical acne remedies are Adapalene, Azelaic Acid, Minocycline, Clindamycin, Erythromycin, and Isotretinoin.

For women, birth control pills can be used in treating acne.  The pills change the hormone levels in the body which can reduce the acne causing effects of testosterone. 

So before going with prescription acne remedies, try out our recommended acne products (non-prescription) first.  They are all natural with no side effects.

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