Cystic acne treatment is a type of severe acne treatment that affects the various lymph nodes all over your body. Your dermatologist must be involved in the treatment of this type of acne. A dermatologist is a physician who cares for all the different types of skin disorders. Since cystic acne is so inflammatory, it typically will not respond to the more more common treatments that are available.
Cystic acne treatment requires the use of isotretinoin (Accutane) which is a type of retinoid. This medication is taken orally one to two times per day for anywhere from 16 to 20 weeks. By reducing the size of the oil glands, which prevents oil from being produced, this medication can get very good results. Since oil is a major cause of acne, this overall reduction in the production of oil should help prevent this severe form of acne. Isotreinoin also helps to reduce the amount of cell shedding and reduces the stickiness of the cells in the follicles, thus preventing the development of comedones.
Advantages of Isotretinoin
Isotretinoin is a very effective medication for the treatment of cystic acne and is also effective in the prevention of extensive scarring in many patients. In approximately 90% of patients who used this medication for 16 to 20 weeks, the acne either completely or almost completely went away. In some cases, the acne returned and resulted in another treatment program with isotretinoin.
Isotretinoin Disadvantages
There are several disadvantages for patients treated with isotretinoin. One of the biggest disadvantages is the expensive cost of the drug. It has been linked with some severe adverse effects, one of which is inflammation of the lip and mucous membranes of the eye. Dry mouth, itching skin, muscle pain, nosebleeds, sensitivity to light, and possible decreased night vision are symptoms that are associated with it. Increased lipids and triglycerides, increased liver enzymes, and high blood cholesterol are some of the more serious side effects. Your physician will need to monitor your complete blood count, blood chemistry, cholesterol, triglycerides, and liver enzymes prior to starting this treatment and several times during your cystic acne treatment. If any of these symptoms show up, the isotretinoin should be stopped immediately. These side effects will stop once the medication is no longer being taken. Any patient suffering from any of these side effects should tell their doctor immediately so that he can reduce the dosage of the drug until the side effects have stopped.
A big disadvantage to using isotretinoin is that it may cause a tetragenic defect, which occurs to the developing fetus in a pregnant woman. Avoiding isotretinoin is essential if the female wants to get pregnant and is of childbearing age. One month prior to taking the drug, women should start on a birth control method and continue it until one month after the acne treatment has stopped. In order to find out if it is safe to get pregnant once treatment is stopped, a doctor must be consulted.
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