A Guide To Severe Acne Treatment

Deep cysts, extensive damage to the skin, scarring and inflammation are the common symptoms of severe acne, and it requires aggressive treatment by experienced dermatologist. It may take years of treatment, and in most of the cases, severe acne can be treated successfully.

Severe Acne Treatment Methods

There are certain physical methods and prescription medications used by dermatologists for severe acne treatment, and these include drainage and surgical excision, isotretinoin, interlesional corticosteroid injection, oral antibiotics and oral contraceptives. There are certain large cysts that do not respond to medications, and they need drainage and extraction. This is also called acne surgery, and it must not be performed by patients. Dermatologists attain the required training, and are aware of the proper techniques to perform this surgery under sterile conditions. If patients try to drain and extract the comedones, it can cause infection, making acne worse and leave scars.

When the cyst of acne becomes highly inflamed, interlesional corticosteroid injection is the preferred severe acne treatment method. Highly inflamed acne can easily rupture and cause scarring. To avoid this, dermatologists inject them with highly diluted corticosteroid, and the cyst melts over the period of 3-4 days.

Isotretinoin is another effective severe acne treatment, and is a potent drug used for treating the acne that does not respond to other medications. It is a synthetic retinoid available in the pill form, and should be taken once or twice daily for 15-20 weeks. It is one of the best treatments for severe acne available these days, as it works on clogged skin pores, excess oil production, inflammation and P. acnes. For many people, one course of isotrtinoin therapy is sufficient to get the desired results. There are however few serious side-effects associated with this method including severe birth defects in developing fetus, severe pain in abdomen and chest, bone and joint pain, severe headache, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, painful swallowing, thinning hair, depression, rectal bleeding and dryness of skin.

Oral antibiotics are another severe acne treatment method, and they work to reduce the P. acnes population, hence decreasing the inflammation. The treatment begins with high doses of oral antibiotics, and the amount of medication is gradually reduced once acne resolves. Erythromycin, doxycline, tetracycline and minocycline are most effective in treating acne.

Oral contraceptives are also used as the severe acne treatment method, and have been effective in treating acne in women by suppressing overactive sebaceous glands. Oral contraceptives cannot be prescribed for women who are older than 35, have blood-clotting disorder, women who smoke or have the history of migraine headaches. Oral contraceptives can be used in conjunction with Spironolactone to treat acne in adult females.