acne treatment?
Are there any treatments for acne other than accutane and long-term
antibiotics? At 37, I still have some acne. I'm hesitant to take accutane
before menopause and I'm not keen on taking antibiotics for months at a
stretch. These were the only options I heard about last year when I saw a
dermatologist about it. In fact, I did try the antibiotics for a month (the
doctor was annoyed I didn't call for a refill), in conjunction with both a
wash and a cream whose names escape me. They didn't seem to have much
effect. I'm just wondering if there is some other treatment I might
specifically ask about.
-Yes. Retin-A, the topically-applied drug that's gotten so much press
for reducing wrinkles.
You might be one of the people with a condition for which it was
originally approved!
-It is normal for Retin-A to make acne worse before it makes it better.
The same is also true for Accutane. I've heard people going thru the
transition period say it's like having every zit you ever had erupt
back up out of your skin like a "Night of the Living Dead" movie, tho
the actual mechanism is undoubtedly more scientific than that.
If a patient isn't expecting this, he or she might give up before the
treatment can succeed. Typically this takes several months.