Acne: The Various Medications You Can Take

Oil glands in the skin continuously make a greasy substance called sebum.

This sebum gets trapped behind the plug in the hair follicle. Bacteria get inside this hair follicle or oil gland and cause swelling, redness, and pus. Lastly, a bump forms on the skin- acne.

Acne is most commonly found on the face, neck, back, and arms. There are three types of acne: mild, moderate, and severe.
There is no perfect cure for acne, but it can be controlled, at least to an extent. Part of the problem with finding the right acne medication is that there is no one medicine which could suite all when it comes to acne.

Different people react differently to the various medications and treatments. However, there are several acne medications that have been clinically proven to be effective in treating acne, and these are the medications that will bring to an end the problem of acne for most people.

There are a lot of acne medications at present in the market. Some of these are recommended and prescribed medications. Others are over-the-counter chemical compounds. There are acne medications prepared from herbs, such as tea tree oil. However, many of them are not as helpful as advertised.

The purpose of most acne medicines is to stop plugs from forming in hair follicles and to lessen swelling in the skin. There are various types of medicines used to treat acne. Some acne medicines help in preventing clogged pores by peeling off old layers of the skin.

Other medicines kill germs in or on the skin, or cause the oil glands to make a smaller amount of oil. Sometimes girls or women taking acne medicine also require taking birth control medicine to prevent pregnancy. This is because of the fact that some acne medicines can harm the unborn baby if a woman gets pregnant while taking it.

Of the prescription medications, Accutane is considered to be one of the best. It is a chemical derivative of vitamin A, and is often called the “miracle drug” for acne. Accutane is most useful in the treatment of severe cystic acne, and is not to be taken lightly. For some people, the many side effects of this medicine can be worse than the acne itself. However, this is one treatment that really works.

Oral acne medicines are also very effective in a few cases. They are available in pill or capsule form. These medications must be prescribed by a doctor. In cases of severe acne, an oral medicine called isotretinoin might be needed.

Retin A and Renova are also important prescription medications. These are topical derivatives of vitamin A, and are also effective in clearing up fine lines, wrinkles, and slight skin discolorations.
Birth control pills and antibiotics round out the acne medications usually prescribed.

Birth control pills are used exclusively by women to help regulate or normalize hormones, and therefore lessen the hormone-related acne that many women get. Antibiotics work by attacking the acne causing bacteria as it penetrates deep in skin pores.

There are some over the counter acne treatments that also work well. The two best over the counter medicines are benzoyl peroxide, and salicylic acid.

Benzoyl peroxide penetrates the skin pores, and eliminates the acne causing bacteria. Benzoyl peroxide is the most widely used acne treatment because it is affordable and reasonably priced, easily available, and nearly as effective as most prescription medications.

Salicylic acid removes the top layers of dead skin cells. This helps the skin renew itself sooner, and decreases the chance for pore blockage and a consequent acne breakout.
A vast majority of acne treatments fall are categorized under the label of “herbal” acne treatments.

Of all herbal medications available, there are only two that are presently proven to stop acne.

Tea tree oil helps get rid of acne, green tea cream does the same. Tea tree oil is derived from one tea tree plant that is only one of its kinds in Australia. Tea tree oil has seen a recent revival due in part to study that proved it is as effective in treating acne as 5% benzoyl peroxide. Furthermore, it has none of the side effects that benzoyl peroxide has.

Green tea cream has been validated more recently, at the American Academy of Dermatology conference. Though the study has not been corroborated yet, it demonstrated that there is yet another herbal treatment besides tea tree oil.

These are some of the acne medications proven to work. For those who are experiencing acne, any of the aforementioned acne treatments would be well worth trying.