Brian Hog asked:


Most of you with acne are on the lookout for the best medicines to win your war on acne. Usually, you get excited about the medicines heavily marketed these days on different mediums. For many, it becomes difficult to choose the right medicine.

This article intends to provide you with the information about buying the acne curing medicines that have worked for many. However, you should always consult your dermatologist for exactly the right medicine for your acne.

There are two ways you can get your hands on acne medicines.



Through Prescription

There are medicines in drug stores that can’t be attained without a doctor’s prescription. Many acne medicines are required to be prescribed by a doctor first and then be given. In this case you are to consult your dermatologist about the medicine available only through prescription. If the doctor feels the acne medicine is good for you, he will provide you with a prescription.



Over the Counter

Over the counter products are those which can be acquired without the need of any prescription. Many acne medicines that you see the advertisements of come under this category of obtaining medicines.



Top performing acne curing medicines

Presented below is the ranking of best performing acne removing medicines that have done wonders for many. These ratings of medicines have been generated after interviewing the respectable customers of various reputable online drug stores.

1) Astara Blue Flame Purification Mask

2) PhytoMe Acne Gel

3) Neutrogena Cooling Gel Mask

4) Acne Dry Spot

5) pHisoderm 4-Way Daily Acne Cleanser

6) DDF BP Gel 5% with Tea Tree Oil

7) DermaClear

Clinique Acne Solutions Emergency Gel Lotion

DDF Pumice Acne Scrub



Cynthia

Sarah J asked:


I have just started topical acne wash as well as overall gel. With the start of this medication, I have noticed severe greasiness in my hair. Could the two be linked?

Lee

Cristi asked:


Many people take medication without giving any thought to safety or how their system will react to it’s presence. The unfortunate truth is that many medications, both over the counter and prescription, present some serious risks to users. This may range from a simple skin irritation to a more serious occurrence that may require hospitalization. Acne medicine is no different and must be used responsibly and selected with your own personal health in mind.

Prior to purchasing or using any type of acne medicine, make sure to read the outside packaging for any warning or cautionary notices. In addition, pay close attention to the instructions and guidelines for usage, which must be followed thoroughly.

If you are using any type of cream or lotion acne medicine, apply it to only a small test area of the skin at first. This is done so that you can make sure the product does not irritate your skin prior to applying it to the rest of the affected area. This is not only important to do with new medicines, but even with an acne medicine that you have used before. A product that does not initially cause irritation may cause it during the next use, so always use the test application method prior to exposing your entire problem area to possible irritation.

When selecting acne medicine, choose one with little or no side effects. Medicine is designed to treat an ailment and not to make it worse or create new ones in the process. While it is true that many conventional medicines carry their own potential risks, there are products that do not. It is very important to consider any/all side effects prior to using any type of acne medicine.

If you are purchasing an over the counter acne medicine, never use a product that has been opened or appears to have been tampered with. It is best to purchase a product that is factory sealed and, if your product of choice is not sealed, consider ordering it online where it is kept out of high traffic areas prior to being shipped. This is simply a good idea so that everyone passing through any given store doesn’t have the opportunity to open or use the product before you buy it.

This article is to be used for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice regarding the use of acne medicine. Prior to beginning any treatment regimen, the patient must consult a licensed medical doctor or dermatologist for advice and/or to determine the best course of action for his/her individual situation.



Kathleen

Karen Cheong asked:


You know what I hate about acne medicine? There is no instant cure. Acne is considered a chronic disease. But it can be an acute social emergency as well. Anyone who has suddenly had a huge pimple 3 days before the biggest party of the year can tell you that.

I remember getting really tired of faithfully applying my various over-the-counter topical acne medicines and seeing no results. I must have spent a small fortune on the different products and my face was no better. In fact,on some days,it was definitely worse. In desperation,I went to our loving family doctor for help.

“I need an acne medicine that can cure my acne. Quick.” I said. She very kindly informed me that there is no such thing as a magic acne medicine. She did offer to prescribe me some antibiotics after peering at my face for a while. She felt the acne looked bad enough to warrant prescribed acne medicine. I thought that seemed like a good idea. Surely my problems would be over in 3 days? 5 days maximum? That was how long my sore throat lasted the last time she gave me a course of antibiotics.

My loving doctor had to correct me. It would take two months before I was going to see any change. My heart sank. What was I supposed to do in the meantime then? The party was in 3 days. Well apparently the best the good doctor could suggest was to continue to use the same topical acne medicines I was already using even though they obviously were not working. She felt perhaps a little make-up would correct the problem in the short-term. I resigned myself to taking the medicine,telling myself two months was actually quite short in the larger scheme of things.

Then I found out I had to take the acne medicine twice a day. Everyday. My grandmother only had to take her high blood pressure pills once a day! I figured she had to take it for a lifetime, so two months was not bad. My loving doctor had to correct me again. It took two months before the effects of the acne medicine would begin to show. After that, I was to continue to take the medicine for another six to twelve months. Some had to take it for longer.That seemed like practically a lifetime to me.

But there was more to come. She then proceeded to explain to me how this acne medicine I was to take twice a day for a whole year may cause side effects. All drugs, she said, can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Antibiotics seem to cause them more often than others. Sometimes the side effects disappear, she consoled. I was also at risk of developing a drug allergy to my acne medicine. If I was a child, the acne medicine could discolour my teeth. If I got pregnant, it could affect my unborn child. If I had some previously unknown kidney disease, this same acne medicine could further damage my vital organs. Oh, and I might get a yeast infection down where?

I don’t know about you, but by then, I really did not think antibiotics were the acne medicine to solve my problems. I had a party in 3 days, a face that looked like a disaster, and the best treatment I was offered would take two months to start working, had to be taken for twelve months, and may even cause side effects.

The lesson? Antibiotics have been used successfully by doctors in the treatment of moderate to severe acne for years. They are relatively safe, though they may have side effects. Antibiotics often take as long as up to two months before any effect is seen, and have to been taken for up to six months to a year even after improvement of the acne, in order to prevent recurrence. Treatment failures often result because patients give up too early in the course of antibiotics.



Denise

kanishkmanchanda asked:


Acne is such a common problem that as many as ninety percent of people are said to experience acne problem at some stage of their lives. Some of them suffer from mild acne while in some cases acne gets very serious and turn into severe acne.

Now, there is no dearth of acne medicine in the market. You just have to go out to the chemist and you would find a number of medicines available for you to choose from. Many people indulge in self medication and find it very convenient to shop for the medicines on their own without paying due importance to medical advice. This is a very dangerous course to follow. It needs to be clearly understood that self-medication can do little good to one. It may make things worse, instead.

If your acne problem is mild or moderate, you would probably not need medicinal treatment and a little bit of precaution combined with healthy diet would do the trick. In such cases all you need to do is increase the intake of water, fruits and vegetables. Avoid eating fried food and resist the tendency to eat fast food as best as you could. It would not only prevent acne from worsening but would also help the body cure the problem on its own.

However, the same does not go for severe acne problem, which means that if your pimples are infected or filled with pus, proper medical treatment may be required. Normally, the medicines prescribed for external application work well. But in certain extreme cases, therapeutic injections or surgery may also be needed.

Conventionally, acne treatment involves medications like minocycline, tetracycline and doxycycline. These medicines together with other antibiotics do away with the microorganism that worsens the acne problem. Oral antibiotics are normally prescribed in severe acne problems only.

It is up to you to decide which acne treatment you want to go for. However, irrespective of the treatment you opt for, ensure that you keep your skin clean and take every possible step to prevent infection. If the problem seems to be worsening, do consult a dermatologist. Let a specialist prescribe the medicine for you according to the severity of your problem.



Joanne

Brian Hog asked:


Most of you with acne must feel as in a battle. The battle of finding effective acne medicines.

Even with the option of selecting from over-the-counter and prescribed medicines available in the market, it is still very difficult to choose an effective medicine for acne as there are hundreds and thousands of medicines available under both the medicinal categories title.

At this stage a dermatologist should be consulted with. He or she can guide you through this search and help you with investing your money in the right medicine.

Whether an acne medicine is effective or not, it can be known only when you try it and this has made the selection of acne medicines somewhat more difficult. Even in the case if the medicine is prescribed to you by a dermatologist, the only way of assuring that the medicine will be effective to your acne condition is the trying of the medicine.

For your convenience we are giving a two-step plan in the following which will help you in finding the best acne medicine for yourself and in the end of the plan you will have virtually complete acne codex that will be further helpful to you.

1.Look for the acne medicines that treat acne from inside out and they guarantee it.

Since acne is not only a simple skin condition, it is important to treat it from inside. In general, acne is related to some dysfunction of the organism hormonal unbalances are the most common causes and for this reason it is meaningless treating only the skin when the real problem lies on the inside. When acne occurs, it is a sign that something is going wrong.

2.Look for the side effects that are caused by acne medicines.

Take action on the above two-step plan and discover a glowing you.



Rachel

Ingrid Lihan asked:


Acne medicine is continually being developed and improved for acne treatment. In the past, most adolescents were told that nothing could be done to cure the condition.  They were also cautioned to eliminate certain foods from their diet.  Most people were led to believe that they contracted acne because their skin was not kept clean. Prescribed treatments had limited effectiveness and tended to be expensive. Today, though, there are options in the treatment of acne that are not only effective, but are simple to implement. If you have acne, you can expect to find relief from the symptoms with some of the treatments listed below and also prevent further breakouts.

Retinoic Acids

A popular form of acne medicine is that of retinoic acids.  Retinoic acids are composed of lotions, creams and salves with a vitamin A base. Vitamin A acids help to open the pores and reduce the bacteria related to acne. In topical cream form, retinoic acid is used in the treatment of acne and keratosis pilaris. Retinoic acid is marketed as tretinoin.  For recalcitrant cases of acne, an isomer of tretinoin, isotretinoin, is prepared to be taken orally. The medicine is sold under the trade names of Accutane and Roaccutane.  This medication is generally the first course of defense again the scourge of acne.

Antibiotics - Topical and Oral

Although not the first stop in the way of acne medicine antibiotics are a strong acne treatment component to fight the bacteria that are implicated as a cause of acne blemishes.  Topical antibiotic creams and lotions are aimed at fighting the bacteria.  Oral antibiotics help increase the body’s defenses against bacteria.  Antibiotics work by reducing the number of bacteria around the follicle of the hair.  They also have the effect of reducing the amount of chemical irritants cause by the production of white blood cells. Finally, antibiotics reduce the amount of free fatty acids in the sebum so that the inflammation response is reduced.

Birth Control Pills

Women who have begun a proscribed course of birth control pills are often pleasantly surprised to find that the severity of acne symptoms is reduced when oral contraceptives are prescribed. In fact, one specific type of oral contraceptive is prescribed as a standard acne medicine. The birth control pills work due to the hormone levels contained in the pills. A combination of acne medicine and birth control medication makes a lot of sense. In low dosages, birth control pills prevent new outbreaks and reduces the number and severity of breakouts.

Isotretinoin

Isotretinoin is also known as Accutane and is a revolutionary acne medicine.  Accutane is one of the retinoid family, similar to Vitamin A. Accutane works by varying the transcription of DNA so the sebaceous glands are affected in the amount of output. The cells that are sloughed off are thus not so sticky which reduces the blackheads and whiteheads that are symptomatic of acne.

Although previously, Accutane was prescribed for acne that had not responded to previous doses of oral antibiotics, it is now being prescribed earlier in the acne treatment course.



Ethel

John Porter asked:


The action of proactive acne medicines is hidden in the term “proactive” itself. The medical professionals have treated the proactive medicines for acne cure as the best to cure acnes. The reason is straight and simple because the medicines are not just meant to cure the acnes present on your skin but at the same time stop the repetitive problem of acne you have to face. The acne medicines can keep away the regular breakouts of acne.

Features of proactive acne medicines

The first quality of the proactive medicine is that it should be able to detect the roots of acne and directly hit them to remove them out. Then it must wipe out the toxin factors responsible for the acne growth in the body. It must check the fact that sebum does not get clog on the skin to form acne. In this way it prevent the acne growth and well as block the repetitive outbreaks.

The above-mentioned features state the direct qualities of the acne medicines. Besides them there are some alternative vital roles to be played by the medicine. Steadiness in the blood circulation has to be built up to keep acnes away and the medicines stand in support to this factor.

The skin pH factor is very important to fight against the acne growth. The acne medicines maintain the balance in the pH factor so that the infectious elements and agents cannot affect the skin so easily. This is also a way to prevent the skin from the acne growth.

The pollutants present in the environment can worsen the condition of the acnes already present on your skin and lead to further damage. But if you take in the medicines you can remain guarded from the pollutants thereby creating barrier from acne to sprout on your skin.

The proactive medicines can resist the strong inflammation that acnes can cause and on the other hand maintain the moisturizing effect of the skin without letting it dry unnecessarily.

List of proactive acne medicines

The components that are actually a part of the proactive acne medicines are Aloe Vera, Chamomile, Dong Quai, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, and Herba Lamnae etc. They are protective to the skin in different aspects. As Aloe Vera is a great moisturizing agent the twenty-nine amino acids increases the resistance of the kin against the acne problem. Similarly for blood circulation Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae is important and for eradication of toxins and impurities Dong Quai acts the best.



Brittany

tashaBABY asked:


I never ever break out but several days ago I got this big, cluster of red painful acne on the side of my face. I’d never had anything like this before (I’ve had a pimple here and there, but not bright red and painful).

So my sister had this prescription acne medicine called Tretinoin, and I started using it every night along with an exfoliating acne gel underneath.

Then last night I noticed that it was peeling and even redder than before, so I used a less harsh spot treatment on it instead. As soon as I put it on my face last night, it burned so much! I figured the pain meant it was working, so I ignored it and went to bed.

This morning I woke up to a horrible brown burned patch on the side of my face that’s peeling and dry. It’s horrible looking and make-up won’t even cover it! It’s rough and all brown and disgusting looking.

I just washed my face, but what can I do to make it look a little better by the morning? Obviously, no more acne medicine - but what else can I do? I have almost everything, so any suggestions?

Leslie

Susan Moro asked:


Whenever someone talks about acne or we hear something about acne what comes in our mind? The answer is facial acne as it the most common amongst the different types of acne. However, acne can breakout in different parts of the body like shoulders, neck, back and upper arms. Body acne is difficult to treat as compared to face acne because the body has to be covered by clothing most of the time.

The causes of body acne are more or less the same as facial acne. Acne is caused due to clogging of pores due to excessive oil secretion. Body acne is not caused due to hygiene reasons rather it is caused due to hormones known as androgens which stimulates sebaceous glands to produce excessive oils resulting in acne.

Body acne can grow to a very severe level where cysts appear on the skin sometimes causing blemishes and scars. As soon as body acne appears you should consult a dermatologist and start treatment immediately as body acne can cause discomfort to the patient. Body acne should not be scrubbed or picked as it can further spread and worsen acne. The body area with acne should be cleaned very gently and it should not be rubbed. Apply acne medicine very gently on the affected area.

If your dermatologist has advised you to use a tropical lotion, you should first clean the affected area very gently and then apply the lotion. Try to wear cotton clothing or very soft textured clothes in order to avoid any friction as it can cause inflammation. The friction caused by rubbing of cloth against the skin can increase the acne and its severity thus increasing the total treatment time. Backpacks, purse straps, sporting clothes and other similar items can aggravate the acne. If you are suffering from body acne, it is better for you to wear looser clothes to avoid friction.

It is a bit difficult to treat body acne as compared to facial acne due to the fact that it is impossible to keep the affected area untouched as we have to wear some cloths most of the time. Acne treatment normally takes a few weeks to show some results. Sometimes the skin gets worse for a while before showing any results. But you should not panic in this situation and continue your skin treatment even if the skin does not show some improvement because acne treatment is a long process.

If you are suffering from body acne than you should start your treatment immediately and try to get complete acne information so you can easily cope with the situation.



Hector