Can Acne Antibiotics Clear Up Your Skin?
Over the last fifty years, doctors have found that acne antibiotics, especially used in combination with other acne treatments, can successfully treat and even cure this skin disorder.
This is welcome news for the millions of sufferers.
Why Do Acne Antibiotics Work? Acne is caused by naturally-occurring bacteria on the skin that gets out of control at certain times in your life.
The explosion of sex hormones during puberty and then throughout your life or during key points like your period or pregnancy stimulate the sebaceous (oil) glands in the skin to overproduce.
The overabundance of oil in your skin also traps dead skin cells where they can block pores and cause acne cysts, or zits.
In addition to this, when cysts are active, white blood cells attack all the bacteria, including the innocent version living on your skin in non-irritated places.
The bacteria fight back by overproducing.
This makes your single zit turn into a full-fledged outbreak.
Acne antibiotics kill the bacteria that feeds on both the oil and dead skin cells, and help reduce the number of irritating white blood cells that are trying to destroy acne bacteria.
In addition, antibiotics for acne slow down the production of oils, removing one source of food for those bacteria.
While they are not the total answer to your acne problem, these medications can get an uncontrollable case of acne under control.
Antibiotics for Acne The most commonly used acne antibiotic is low-dose tetracycline, a generic antibiotic that's been around for years.
While this can help many people get their acne under control, it's a well-known fact that acne bacteria often develop a resistance to it.
This will cause your skin to break out again, and sometimes the breakout can be worse.
Women may also be susceptible to yeast infections that this antibiotic causes.
If this happens, your doctor has a variety of newer antibiotics he or she can resort to.
Common modern antibiotics for acne may include: oErythromycin.
Unlike tetracycline, this acne antibiotic can be taken with food.
It also reduces redness associated with acne.
oDoxycycline can cause oversensitivity to sunlight, but it is often effective when all other antibiotics fail.
oMinocycline is most often used for pustular acne, the nasty gook-filled type, but it has a few serious side effects including skin pigmentation and tooth coloration changes, and should be used only under the supervision of a doctor.
oClindamycin is often used only topically, not as an oral acne antibiotic.
This medication should be used only with a doctor's advice and supervision, as there is a small chance it can cause a serious intestinal infection.
While acne antibiotics are a very effective means for reducing and even curing acne, they are often overlooked because you cannot get them over the counter, as you can with many other acne medications.
But for a stubborn case of acne, these antibiotics used in combination with other treatments like skin cleansers and good diet can make the difference between daily breakouts and healthy, beautiful skin.
This is welcome news for the millions of sufferers.
Why Do Acne Antibiotics Work? Acne is caused by naturally-occurring bacteria on the skin that gets out of control at certain times in your life.
The explosion of sex hormones during puberty and then throughout your life or during key points like your period or pregnancy stimulate the sebaceous (oil) glands in the skin to overproduce.
The overabundance of oil in your skin also traps dead skin cells where they can block pores and cause acne cysts, or zits.
In addition to this, when cysts are active, white blood cells attack all the bacteria, including the innocent version living on your skin in non-irritated places.
The bacteria fight back by overproducing.
This makes your single zit turn into a full-fledged outbreak.
Acne antibiotics kill the bacteria that feeds on both the oil and dead skin cells, and help reduce the number of irritating white blood cells that are trying to destroy acne bacteria.
In addition, antibiotics for acne slow down the production of oils, removing one source of food for those bacteria.
While they are not the total answer to your acne problem, these medications can get an uncontrollable case of acne under control.
Antibiotics for Acne The most commonly used acne antibiotic is low-dose tetracycline, a generic antibiotic that's been around for years.
While this can help many people get their acne under control, it's a well-known fact that acne bacteria often develop a resistance to it.
This will cause your skin to break out again, and sometimes the breakout can be worse.
Women may also be susceptible to yeast infections that this antibiotic causes.
If this happens, your doctor has a variety of newer antibiotics he or she can resort to.
Common modern antibiotics for acne may include: oErythromycin.
Unlike tetracycline, this acne antibiotic can be taken with food.
It also reduces redness associated with acne.
oDoxycycline can cause oversensitivity to sunlight, but it is often effective when all other antibiotics fail.
oMinocycline is most often used for pustular acne, the nasty gook-filled type, but it has a few serious side effects including skin pigmentation and tooth coloration changes, and should be used only under the supervision of a doctor.
oClindamycin is often used only topically, not as an oral acne antibiotic.
This medication should be used only with a doctor's advice and supervision, as there is a small chance it can cause a serious intestinal infection.
While acne antibiotics are a very effective means for reducing and even curing acne, they are often overlooked because you cannot get them over the counter, as you can with many other acne medications.
But for a stubborn case of acne, these antibiotics used in combination with other treatments like skin cleansers and good diet can make the difference between daily breakouts and healthy, beautiful skin.