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. A dermatologist is a physician who cares for all the different types of skin disorders. Cystic acne is a severe form of inflammatory acne and normally will not improve with medications that are normally used on the other acne cases.

Cystic acne treatment requires the use of isotretinoin (Accutane) which is a type of retinoid. It is an oral medication which is usually taken once or twice a day for a period of 16 to 20 weeks. The main reason this medication is used is to shrink the oil glands in the body and prevent the oil from being formed. By reducing the production of oil, which is a major cause of acne, the severe acne should be prevented. Isotreinoin also helps to reduce the amount of cell shedding and reduces the stickiness of the cells in the follicles, thus preventing the development of comedones.

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. In approximately 90% of patients who used this medication for 16 to 20 weeks, the acne either completely or almost completely went away. However, in some of the patients the acne came back causing additional treatment with isotretinoin as a cystic acne treatment.

Isotretinoin Disadvantages

Many disadvantages should be taken into account for anyone using isotretinoin. A big disadvantage is that the drug is very expensive to use. This drug may also cause the lips to inflame as well as the eye's mucous membrane. Other symptoms associated with it include mouth dryness, itching of the nose and skin, nose bleeds, muscle pains, and light sensitivity. 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. Any patient suffering from any of these side effects should tell their doctor immediately so that he can reduce the dosage of the drug until the side effects have stopped.

Another big disadvantage is a tetragenic defect can occur in the fetus if a pregnant woman uses isotretinoin. 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.

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