Cystic Acne Treatment

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July 31st, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Cystic acne treatment is a type of severe acne treatment that affects the various lymph nodes all over your body. Your dermatologist must be involved in the treatment of this type of acne. In order to diagnose a skin condition correctly, a dermatologist should be seen. Cystic Acne is a very severe form of inflammatory acne that does not improve well with other types of acne treatments.

Cystic acne treatment requires the use of isotretinoin (Accutane) which is a type of retinoid. This medication is taken orally one to two times per day for anywhere from 16 to 20 weeks. By reducing the size of the oil glands, which prevents oil from being produced, this medication can get very good results. Since oil is a major cause of acne, this overall reduction in the production of oil should help prevent this severe form of acne. This drug prevents the development of comedones by reducing the cell stickiness in the follicles and helps reduce the shedding of cells.

Advantages of Isotretinoin

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. With some patients an additionaly treatment of isotretinoin was required because the acne came back.

Isotretinoin Disadvantages

Isotretinoin may have several disadvantages for anyone wanting to take it. Using this drug is expensive, which is one of the first disadvantages. Some of the severe side effects include inflammation of the lips and the mucous membranes of the eye. It has also been associated with dry mouth, nose and skin itching, nosebleeds, muscle aches, photosensitivity, and rarely, decreased night vision. 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. If any of these symptoms show up, the isotretinoin should be stopped immediately. These side effects will stop once the medication is no longer being taken. 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. Isotretinoin should always be avoided if the female is of childbearing age or plans to get pregnant in the future. In order for this therapy to work best, a women should be on birth control starting one month prior to taking the drug and continue it for one full month after the treatment is finished. A doctor needs to be consulted in order to determine what is a safe period to get pregnant once the treatment is over.

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