How Do Antibiotics Work as Acne Treatment?

If you’re planning to visit a dermatologist to seek help on your acne problems, it’s most likely that you’ll end up having to take antibiotics. These are the most common medications that doctors prescribe to acne sufferers. So there’s no doubt that they work. But the question is – in what way?

Antibiotics are substances that kill bacteria. Because of this characteristic, these drugs are used to treat various kinds of infections, whether internal or external in nature. We all know that most of the diseases that affect millions of people are bacteria-related. They are among the most dangerous microorganisms because they cause damage to cells and body tissues. And just like other inflectional diseases, acne is also caused by bacteria. This is the reason why it’s called ‘acne’ in the first place because it comes after the term ‘propionibacterium acnes’. This specific type of bacteria is plugged in the hair follicles, obstructing the oil from going out. As the sebum gets stuck in the hair follicles, it becomes a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. After some time, the skin gets irritated and inflamed, resulting to pimples.

Aside from destroying bacteria, antibiotics help treat acne by reducing the substances produced by the white blood cells which cause skin irritation. It also lessens the absorption of fatty acids in the sebum which reduces inflammation.

You should remember that antibiotics won’t help reduce the production of sebum nor will it unclog your hair follicles. It will simply destroy the bacteria.

Types of Antibiotics

Tetracyclineis the most common antibiotic prescribed to acne sufferers. The regular dose of this drug is 500mg which must be taken twice a day. Once the lesions started to fade, the patient can lower down the dose to 250mg. Tetracycline works best when taken on an empty stomach.Erythromycin is another type of antibiotic which has more advantages over Tetracycline. First, it can be taken after meal. Second, it is effective in alleviating acne inflammation. Nonetheless, it has negative effects too. This drug can actually cause nausea, dizziness, skin pigmentation and more. Antibiotics come in topical forms as well. An example is Clindamycin. For those who don’t like the taste of antibiotics, they simply use topical treatments.

Is it Safe to Use Antibiotics for Acne?

While antibiotics may help cure acne, it also comes with side effects. These drugs do not have the ability to determine bad bacteria from the good ones. That means it will simply kill bacteria, regardless of what type there is. But basically, our body needs some good bacteria for a healthy immune system. This is one reason why it’s not always recommended to use antibiotic to treat inflectional diseases. Some prescription antibiotics may also contain ingredients which may harm your health.

In severe cases of acne infection, patients are prescribed with strong antibiotics which they have to take for 6 months or more.However, there have been claims that antibiotic can actually cause acne bacteria to develop resistance to other types of antibiotics. To avoid suffering from stern side effects, it is important that you seek the advice of your doctor. There are so many antibiotics for sale out there but not all of them can be used to treat acne.

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