Birth control pills for acne? It's won't come as a surprise if we fully understand how acne begin in the first place. Caused by a blockage of pores in the hair follicles by excessive shedding of dead skin and secretion of sebum, acne pimple begin to take shape.
What causes an abnormally high amount of sebum secretion by the glands in our skin? It is mainly due to the excessive amount of male hormone, androgen and testosterone presence. When one is in teenage years, the female and male hormones are normally out of balance. And yes, the male hormones also made themselves present in a female body.
Birth control pill is used to bring back some stability of these hormones in the woman's body. Women normally experience great hormone fluctuation before their menstrual period. When these hormones are regulated and become more balance, acne outbreaks would not only become less severe but also less frequent.
A visit to a dermatologist for those with severe case of acne would normally lead to the prescription of isotretinoin. This medication, usuall come in the brand Accutane, is a risky drug to treat acne.
To say that Accutane is risky to a pregnant woman is an understatement. It is a well known fact that Accutane causes great harm to one's fetus. Therefore, federal regulation are in placed to confirm one is not pregnant before taking Accutane. Also, screening of pregnancy is required for each refill of Accutane medication.
That's why your doctor normally prescribed birth control pill be taken together with Accutane to minimize the chance of getting pregnant during one's acne treatment using Accutane. However, as with all other acne medications, once you stop taking them, acne will come back to haunt you and might even be more severe than before.
One final note I must stress that when birth control pills are used to control one's acne, its effectiveness on its main function, ie. to avoid pregnancy, is greatly reduced due to the presence of Accutane. It still have its effect but it pays to get another birth control method in place to further reduce the probability of getting a baby.
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What causes an abnormally high amount of sebum secretion by the glands in our skin? It is mainly due to the excessive amount of male hormone, androgen and testosterone presence. When one is in teenage years, the female and male hormones are normally out of balance. And yes, the male hormones also made themselves present in a female body.
Birth control pill is used to bring back some stability of these hormones in the woman's body. Women normally experience great hormone fluctuation before their menstrual period. When these hormones are regulated and become more balance, acne outbreaks would not only become less severe but also less frequent.
A visit to a dermatologist for those with severe case of acne would normally lead to the prescription of isotretinoin. This medication, usuall come in the brand Accutane, is a risky drug to treat acne.
To say that Accutane is risky to a pregnant woman is an understatement. It is a well known fact that Accutane causes great harm to one's fetus. Therefore, federal regulation are in placed to confirm one is not pregnant before taking Accutane. Also, screening of pregnancy is required for each refill of Accutane medication.
That's why your doctor normally prescribed birth control pill be taken together with Accutane to minimize the chance of getting pregnant during one's acne treatment using Accutane. However, as with all other acne medications, once you stop taking them, acne will come back to haunt you and might even be more severe than before.
One final note I must stress that when birth control pills are used to control one's acne, its effectiveness on its main function, ie. to avoid pregnancy, is greatly reduced due to the presence of Accutane. It still have its effect but it pays to get another birth control method in place to further reduce the probability of getting a baby.
