Acne Medicines

Welcome to our mini website about acne medicine. Here you will find information about the acne medicines which are currently available on the market today. Here we also provide additional resources about acne medicine, the most current news about acne medicine, and a chat room about acne medicine, acne, and related topics. We also provide an acne treatments store, which provides current acne treatments and books about acne.

If you are seeking information about how to treat your acne, then you have come to the right site. If you are a dermatologist who needs to keep up on the most current acne medicine news, then this site should also serve you well. Our acne medicine news component is updated daily. Our discussion here is primarily directed to the individual who is seeking the right course of action in terms of eliminating acne.

Over the counter acne medicine products are starting to become a progressively favorite option over prescription acne medicine in the handling of acne. The effectiveness of these products has steadily improved over time.

These acne medicines can be bought at any drug store, and do not require a prescription in order to purchase them. For individuals with conservative or mild forms of acne, the over-the-counter acne medicines will have similar efficacy as the more costly prescribed ones.

Besides being cheaper, these over-the-counter acne medicines frequently have less, or no deleterious side effects, in comparison to some of the highly marketed prescription drugs. Although there are many over-the-counter acne medicines on sale, these acne medicines may be placed into one of two categories - either medicated or those that contain natural constituents. Both types can help in the reduction or elimination of the acne.

In terms of the medicated acne medicines, the primary active component is either benzoyl peroxide, salycic acid or glycolic acid. Natural acne medicines consists of combination of natural constituents such as plant extracts like aloe vera, along with witch hazel, cucumber, vitamin E, and other natural products.

Over-the-counter acne medicines usually exist in the form of topical cleansers, soaps, washes, lotions, creams, and gels. These products are applied directly to the area of skin which is infected with acne.

When you are trying acne medicines for the first time, make sure you let them work long enough in order to determine if the product will work for you. Many over-the-counter acne medicines can take up to six to eight weeks to start working, where you see an actual visible reduction in the acne. For some individuals, a positive affect can be seen in as little as two weeks. The length of time really depends on acne severity and the type of acne you have. But in any case, you should start to see a positive affect by two months or less.

Once you find the right acne medicine that you feel works for you, it is imperative that you continue to apply the acne medicine, to a lesser degree, in order to keep the acne from coming back.

Regardless of the acne medicine you use, it is also imperative that you read the instructions carefully and apply the medicine exactly as described in the package leaflet.

The medicated and natural forms of acne medicine will reduce or eliminate most forms of acne if applied as specified by the manufacture. For those individuals with stubborn cases, a trip to the dermatologist is in order. The dermatologist will give you a prescription which may be one of the following acne medications:

Acne Medicines - Prescription Medicines

• Interlesional Corticosteroid Injection
• Isotretinoin
• Oral Antibiotics
  • Erythromycin
  • Tetracycline and derivatives
• Oral Contraceptives
• Topical Antimicrobials
  • Azelaic acid
  • Benzoyl peroxide
  • Clindamycin
  • Erythromycin
  • Sodium sulfacetamide
• Topical Retinoids
  • Adapalene
  • Tazarotene
  • Tretinoin

As you can see, there are many prescription acne medicines available today. If you see a dermatologist, he or she will prescribe one of these medications, the type dependent on the type of acne you have. If you have severe acne, one of these products should eradicate it. If you do not have severe acne, then your best bet is to start with one of the many over the counter medicated or natural products which currently are available in the market place today.

Two of the best over-the-counter acne medicines are Acnezine Acne Solution and ClearPores. Other most commonly used over-the-counter acne medicines are Clean & Clear Persa-Gel or Oxy Spot Treatment, which contain benzoyl peroxide and ClearasilStay Clear which contain salicylic acid. Generally, these medications are useful for people with mild acne.

Revitol Acnezine

ClearPores

Persa-Gel

Oxy Spot

Clearasil Stayclear

Clearasil Adult

If these over-the-counter acne medicines do not work for you, you can try over-the-counter products with sulfur and/or resorcinol such as Clearasil Adult Care.

Sources:
Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs. American Pharmaceutical Association, 2000.
The Merck Manual of Medical Information: Home Edition. Merck & Co., 1997.
Thiboutot, D. “New Treatments and Therapeutic Strategies for Acne.” Archives of Family Medicine 2000: 9:179-187.

The following is the most current news and videos about acne medicines, and acne in general, which should be of interest to both the patient and practicing dermatologist.