Cystic Acne Treatment

Posted by acnetips

Cystic acne treatment is a type of severe acne treatment that affects the various lymph nodes all over your body. It is extremely important that this type of acne be treated by your dermatologist. A dermatologist is a medical doctor that specializes in and diagnoses skin conditions. 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. The drug is taken for 16 to 20 weeks orally at a rate of once or twice daily. This medication is used to prevent oil from being produced by reducting the size of the sudiferous, or oil, glands in the body. Since oil is a major cause of acne, this overall reduction in the production of oil should help prevent this severe form of acne. 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.

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. Another isotretinoin treatment program may be required in some patients if the acne comes 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. It has been linked with some severe adverse effects, one of which is inflammation of the lip and 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. Some of the more serious side effects are elevated blood cholesterol, abnormal liver enzyme readings, and high lipid and triglyceride levels. 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. Most of these side effects will disappear if the medication is discontinued. If a patient suffers from any of these side effects, a doctor should be alerted and the dosage of the medication will be decreased until the side effects stop.

Another big disadvantage is a tetragenic defect can occur in the fetus if a pregnant woman uses isotretinoin. Isotretinoin should always be avoided if the female is of childbearing age or plans to get pregnant in the future. 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. In order to find out if it is safe to get pregnant once treatment is stopped, a doctor must be consulted.

Tags: acne treatment, cystic acne, cystic acne treatment, isotretinoin