Affordable Acne Treatments

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. A dermatologist is a medical doctor that specializes in and diagnoses skin conditions. 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. 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. One stat shows that the acne may totally disappear, or get very close, in 90% of the cases where the drug was used for 16 to 20 weeks. However, in some of the patients the acne came back causing additional treatment with isotretinoin as a cystic acne treatment.

Isotretinoin Disadvantages

Isotretinoin may have several disadvantages for anyone wanting to take it. 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. It has also been associated with dry mouth, nose and skin itching, nosebleeds, muscle aches, photosensitivity, and rarely, decreased night vision. Included among the more serious side effects are increased blood cholesterol, lipid and triglyceride levels, and abnormal liver enzymes. 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. 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. If a woman is of childbearing age and plans to become pregnant, isotretinoin should be avoided at all costs. 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. In order to find out if it is safe to get pregnant once treatment is stopped, a doctor must be consulted.