Cystic Acne Treatment

Cystic acne treatment is a type of severe acne treatment that affects the various lymph nodes all over your body. It is of extreme importance that this type of acne is treated under the guidelines of a dermatologist. In order to diagnose a skin condition correctly, a dermatologist should be seen. Since cystic acne is so inflammatory, it typically will not respond to the more more common treatments that are available.

Cystic acne treatment requires the use of isotretinoin (Accutane) which is a type of retinoid. The drug is taken for 16 to 20 weeks orally at a rate of once or twice daily. The primary purpose of this medication is to markedly reduce the size of the sudiferous (oil) glands in your body and helps to prevent oil from being produced. By reducing the production of oil, which is a major cause of acne, the severe acne should be prevented. This drug prevents the development of comedones by reducing the cell stickiness in the follicles and helps reduce the shedding of cells.

Isotetinoin Advantages

Isotretinoin is a very effective medication for the treatment of cystic acne and is also effective in the prevention of extensive scarring in many patients. By using the drug for 16 to 20 weeks, 90% of the users were able to completely or almost completely get rid of their acne. In some cases, the acne returned and resulted in another treatment program with isotretinoin.

Isotretinoin Disadvantages

Many disadvantages should be taken into account for anyone using isotretinoin. Among these disadvantages are, first of all, this drug is expensive to use. This drug may also cause the lips to inflame as well as the eye's mucous membrane. Dry mouth, itching skin, muscle pain, nosebleeds, sensitivity to light, and possible decreased night vision are symptoms that are associated with it. Increased lipids and triglycerides, increased liver enzymes, and high blood cholesterol are some of the more serious side effects. Your physician will need to monitor your complete blood count, blood chemistry, cholesterol, triglycerides, and liver enzymes prior to starting this treatment and several times during your cystic acne treatment. Your treatment with isotretinoin should be immediately stopped when any of these symptoms occur. If the medication is stopped, most of these side effects will go away. A doctor must be contacted immediately if a patient experiences any of these sides effects so that he or she can reduce them by lowering the dosage.

A tetragenic defect, which is caused in the developing fetus, is another big disadvantage. Avoiding isotretinoin is essential if the female wants to get pregnant and is of childbearing age. Women should also use an appropriate birth control method for a one-month prior to taking this drug, during the entire treatment with this drug, and for one full month after the therapy stops. They should consult with their doctor about when it is safe to get pregnant when treatment has stopped.