Can acne be cleared with antibiotics? part 2

What topical antibiotics are available?

Types of topical antibiotics used to treat acne include erythromycin, clindamycin, and sulfa drugs. Most people believe that applying a topical antibiotic directly to skin can help cure acne- this is a fallacy. The majority of these topical antibiotics fail to penetrate skin and have no affect on acne. Sure, there are fewer side effects from a gel than a pill, but over time, all antibiotics have one major disadvantage- bacteria that cause acne quickly become resistant to the drug and no longer respond.

Almost all topical antibiotics lead to a skin rash or irritation after prolonged application. Sometimes this reaction is related directly to the antibiotic but often the irritation is to some chemical in the formulation. Topical antibiotics have to be applied 2-3 times a day.

Oral Antibiotics

The most frequently prescribed antibiotics for acne are tetracyclines. While some doctors love to prescribe these antibiotics, these drugs do very little. Part of the problem is that some doctors are clueless and never really follow up patients well. Tetracyclines help less than 1% of individuals with acne. These drugs are only meant to be taken for a short time—a few weeks. The most common tetracycline prescribed for acne includes minocycline and doxycycline.

Cyberspace is full of negative testimonials about these drugs. They are expensive, have side effects and most of all, do jack shit. Today, some doctors have been combining antibiotics with Retinoids, benzyl peroxide and a hodge podge of other creams.

For all consumers, a tetracycline only helps the rare individual with inflamed acne. If your acne has not improved after 2-3 weeks, then you need to change to a doctor who knows a little more about acne and/or will not prescribe you more of these crappy antibiotics.

Final Advice

With a large lucrative acne market and millions of individuals seeking to look young, beautiful and acne free, there are newer products, herbs, spices, mineral, and nutrients being hyped up every single day. The majority of these acne treatments are scams.

Besides antibiotics, now light-based treatments, zinc, and magnesium are also being promoted as superior acne therapies. However, there are no scientific data to back up claims made by individuals who sell or offer these products.

Please consumers do not waste your money on nonsensical products for your acne. If you are going to select a product, then make sure it is a retinoid. As far as everything else is concerned- all you will get is a lot of disappointments, frustration, prolonged acne, and loss of money.

Can acne be cleared with antibiotics?

The first thing most skin care health professionals do for your acne is write you an antibiotic prescription. Many doctors ask no questions, never look at the face, and kick you out of their office in a few minutes (a quick $ 75-$100 consult). There are more antibiotic prescriptions written for acne than the common cold. Antibiotics were one of the first medications used to treat acne. Both oral and topical antibiotics have been used for more than 50 years to treat acne and one would think that after all this time, skin doctors would know a lot more- but the truth is antibiotics do very little for acne. It is the rare individual with acne that has ever obtained a cure with antibiotics.

Do topical antibiotics cure acne?

Actually topical antibiotics are a waste of time and money. They do nothing. You could get the same result by simply washing your face with a soap and water. There are several topical antibiotics, which are given to patients, but all of them fall into the category of rubbish (or JUNK). Less than 1 percent of individuals with acne ever respond to antibiotics. Even this response is neither reproducible nor reliable. Why health care professionals continue to write prescriptions for antibiotics for acne is difficult to explain (perhaps stupidity and/or ignorance about the literature!)

Do oral antibiotics cure acne?

Yes but in a very few patients. Overall, pills are just as bad as the topical gels. The antibiotic pills only work for the acutely inflamed acne characterized by red pustules. It is postulated that the antibiotics kill bacteria that cause redness, pain, and inflammation. However, in reality most individuals have a poor result with antibiotics. It does not matter which antibiotic is used the result is the same- NADA.

Testimonials on cyberspace indicate that effectiveness of antibiotics is worse than a sugar pill. The consumer should know that there are many antibiotics hyped up to cure acne- whenever so many antibiotics are used to cure one skin disorder; it generally means that none of them works.