ANNOUNCER: Getting a handle on acne begins with basic skin care techniques and understanding your treatment options.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: We want people to wash their face generally twice a day. It doesn't really matter what they wash with. Any standard soap is reasonable.
People should be gentle with their face. In fact, if you have a lot of inflammatory acne, if you really scrub your face very hard, you can worsen the acne.
ANNOUNCER: A number of other factors can cause acne to flare up, such as oily or greasy skin products, environmental irritants like pollution and high humidity and squeezing or picking at blemishes.
Changing hormone levels in adolescent girls and adult women can also worsen acne.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: Women of childbearing years and beyond, the hormonal fluctuations that they have can certainly cause breakouts.
ANNOUNCER: An effective treatment for women experiencing hormonally-influenced acne is low-dose estrogen oral contraceptives.
Over the counter gels, lotions, creams and soaps are available to people who need help controlling acne. Many of these topical medicines contain benzoyl peroxide.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: Benzoyl peroxide and topical antibiotics decrease the amount of bacteria in the skin. They stop the production of the bacteria within the sebaceous gland and the follicle. Where you knock down the bacteria, you also can decrease the production of further acne lesions.
ANNOUNCER: Benzyl peroxide can have side effects.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: There are a few percent of the population who are actually allergic to benzoyl peroxide, so they can get sort of welty or rash reactions to the medication. Also as you get to stronger version of benzoyl peroxide, you can have drying or irritation.
There are some practical aspects to using it that people should know about. It can cause bleaching, both of the skin in darker skin types, but also on towels and clothing that it comes in contact with.
ANNOUNCER: Products containing benzyl peroxide and topical antibiotics can be highly effective for people with mild to moderate acne. Topical medicines containing resorcinol and sulfur break down blackheads and whiteheads.
If the over the counter products are unsuccessful, prescription medications are the next step.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: The topical retinoids, drugs like tretinoin (Retin-A®) or adapalene (Differin®), tazarotene (Tazorac®) are actually derived from vitamin A, and they impact how cells turn over. When it comes to skin cells, we have cells that work from the bottom of the skin to the top of the skin in about a month, 28 days, and then they sort of flake off the top of the skin. Well, the same thing is happening inside the gland follicle. There are cells that line that canal, and they last around a month and then get brought out to the surface of the skin. But in acne, those cells get sticky, and they plug up the canal. Retinoids work by de-plugging the canal and preventing plugs from happening.
ANNOUNCER: Retinoids can dry the skin, cause irritation and make patients sensitive to the sun. But when used appropriately, retinoids are highly effective and have very few side effects. However, due to the risk of birth defects, it's important that women of childbearing age are not pregnant and do not get pregnant while taking this medicine.
If a patient's severe acne is not responding to standard medicines, her physician may prescribe the oral antibiotic isotretinoin. It is commonly know by the trade name Accutane®.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: This is a highly potent agent that can pretty much wipe out anyone's acne. They go into the bloodstream concentrate in the sebaceous glands which are present in the acne-prone areas. The antibiotics decrease the bacteria. They also have potent anti-inflammatory effects.
ANNOUNCER: Oral antibiotics are taken for short terms from 15 to 20 weeks.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: If you're on an oral antibiotic for a long period of time, the bacteria, the P-acnes in the sebaceous glands can actually become resistant. And then the antibiotics don't work.
ANNOUNCER: Isotretinoin can cause birth defects in the developing fetus of a pregnant woman. It is important that women of childbearing age are not pregnant and do not get pregnant while taking this medicine.
Other possible side effects include, dryness, nosebleeds, sensitivity to the sun, poor night vision and changes in the blood. All patients taking isotretinoin should be closely monitored by their physician.
ANNOUNCER: Whether a person suffers from mild or severe acne, there are solutions to their skin problems.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: We can basically wipe out anyone's acne. When we get to moderate to severe and severe acne, it has a huge impact on the quality of life of the individual. If someone has acne that's not responding to over the counter medicines, they should make their way to the physician because we can take care of it.
ANNOUNCER: Getting a handle on acne begins with basic skin care techniques and understanding your treatment options.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: We want people to wash their face generally twice a day. It doesn't really matter what they wash with. Any standard soap is reasonable.
People should be gentle with their face. In fact, if you have a lot of inflammatory acne, if you really scrub your face very hard, you can worsen the acne.
ANNOUNCER: A number of other factors can cause acne to flare up, such as oily or greasy skin products, environmental irritants like pollution and high humidity and squeezing or picking at blemishes.
Changing hormone levels in adolescent girls and adult women can also worsen acne.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: Women of childbearing years and beyond, the hormonal fluctuations that they have can certainly cause breakouts.
ANNOUNCER: An effective treatment for women experiencing hormonally-influenced acne is low-dose estrogen oral contraceptives.
Over the counter gels, lotions, creams and soaps are available to people who need help controlling acne. Many of these topical medicines contain benzoyl peroxide.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: Benzoyl peroxide and topical antibiotics decrease the amount of bacteria in the skin. They stop the production of the bacteria within the sebaceous gland and the follicle. Where you knock down the bacteria, you also can decrease the production of further acne lesions.
ANNOUNCER: Benzyl peroxide can have side effects.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: There are a few percent of the population who are actually allergic to benzoyl peroxide, so they can get sort of welty or rash reactions to the medication. Also as you get to stronger version of benzoyl peroxide, you can have drying or irritation.
There are some practical aspects to using it that people should know about. It can cause bleaching, both of the skin in darker skin types, but also on towels and clothing that it comes in contact with.
ANNOUNCER: Products containing benzyl peroxide and topical antibiotics can be highly effective for people with mild to moderate acne. Topical medicines containing resorcinol and sulfur break down blackheads and whiteheads.
If the over the counter products are unsuccessful, prescription medications are the next step.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: The topical retinoids, drugs like tretinoin (Retin-A®) or adapalene (Differin®), tazarotene (Tazorac®) are actually derived from vitamin A, and they impact how cells turn over. When it comes to skin cells, we have cells that work from the bottom of the skin to the top of the skin in about a month, 28 days, and then they sort of flake off the top of the skin. Well, the same thing is happening inside the gland follicle. There are cells that line that canal, and they last around a month and then get brought out to the surface of the skin. But in acne, those cells get sticky, and they plug up the canal. Retinoids work by de-plugging the canal and preventing plugs from happening.
ANNOUNCER: Retinoids can dry the skin, cause irritation and make patients sensitive to the sun. But when used appropriately, retinoids are highly effective and have very few side effects. However, due to the risk of birth defects, it's important that women of childbearing age are not pregnant and do not get pregnant while taking this medicine.
If a patient's severe acne is not responding to standard medicines, her physician may prescribe the oral antibiotic isotretinoin. It is commonly know by the trade name Accutane®.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: This is a highly potent agent that can pretty much wipe out anyone's acne. They go into the bloodstream concentrate in the sebaceous glands which are present in the acne-prone areas. The antibiotics decrease the bacteria. They also have potent anti-inflammatory effects.
ANNOUNCER: Oral antibiotics are taken for short terms from 15 to 20 weeks.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: If you're on an oral antibiotic for a long period of time, the bacteria, the P-acnes in the sebaceous glands can actually become resistant. And then the antibiotics don't work.
ANNOUNCER: Isotretinoin can cause birth defects in the developing fetus of a pregnant woman. It is important that women of childbearing age are not pregnant and do not get pregnant while taking this medicine.
Other possible side effects include, dryness, nosebleeds, sensitivity to the sun, poor night vision and changes in the blood. All patients taking isotretinoin should be closely monitored by their physician.
ANNOUNCER: Whether a person suffers from mild or severe acne, there are solutions to their skin problems.
LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: We can basically wipe out anyone's acne. When we get to moderate to severe and severe acne, it has a huge impact on the quality of life of the individual. If someone has acne that's not responding to over the counter medicines, they should make their way to the physician because we can take care of it.