Pills for Acne
You can find quite a few prescription medications on the market today that help fight acne. However, for women one of the most popular forms of acne treatment is the use of a birth control pill. These pills can be taken by both teenagers and adult women. However, men cannot take this pill. Using a birth control pill to fight acne in a man would cause major problems for his system.
For women though the birth control pill is a great option to preventing and treating acne. In addition, if you have a severe form of acne then you may be required to take a treatment that requires the addition of a birth control pill. Doctors will not let you take the more serious acne treatment pills without the use of a birth control pill at the same time.
Why Do Birth Control Pills Work for Acne
Many women, particularly teenagers, find that their acne breaks out right before their menstrual period. This is because the hormones are rising to higher levels and the production of these hormones is no longer even. The birth control pill helps to even out the production of these hormones. When these hormones become regulated women find that their acne breakouts become less severe in both frequency and severity.
Is the Birth Control Option Right for You
In the first few years after a girl enters puberty the hormones estrogen, progestin and testosterone are very unstable. As the levels of these hormones changes it will irritate the acne that almost every teenager suffers from. For younger girls and teenagers who suffer from moderate to severe acne breakouts can find a great improvement by taking a birth control pill. Not only does the pill help calm down their hormones but the acne breakouts won’t be as severe. For adult women they can enjoy having clearer skin when they take the birth control pill.
If you are someone who suffers from very severe acne breakouts then your doctor may decide to put you on a heavy acne treatment medicine called isotretinoin. This drug is commonly called Accutane. It is a very powerful yet highly effective acne treatment that cannot be taken during pregnancy no matter what. Therefore, many doctor will often then require a prescription of birth control pills for any woman on Accutane.
Accutane has been known to cause damage to the fetus during studies. Therefore, if a doctor prescribes Accutane to you they are required by law to make sure you have two negative pregnancy tests a week before you start the drug. Then you must be taking at least two forms of birth control pills during your time on Accutane. Even a month after you stop taking Accutane you are required to continue taking birth control pills and to have a negative pregnancy test.
These regulations on Accutane have been in place for awhile now. However, since pregnancies have been observed still new federal regulations have been added. When taking Accutane you must sign in to a national database so that medical professionals and the government can track your usage and make sure all the appropriate anti-pregnancy precautions are being taken.
Side Effects of Birth Control Pills
If you take your birth control pills for acne at the appropriate dosage as prescribed by a doctor and according to the pharmacists instructions then the side effects are very minimal. The low risk side effects include weight gain, nausea, irregular or breakthrough bleeding. The rarest side effects include problems with blood pressure, blood clots and even heart attacks and strokes.
An important thing to note is that most of the time a doctor will prescribe your birth control pill alongside antibiotics for you acne. The antibiotics can effect the birth control pill, but not enough for it to effect your acne treatment. However, the antibiotics will effect the pill enough so that it will not be an adequate birth control method. Therefore, if you don’t want to become pregnant you should consider adding another birth control pill or method while on the antibiotics.