Acne Treatment - Past To Present
By David C Mitchell
The first acne treatments developed by Dermatologists differ little from some medications you can buy up today at almost any drugstore. Sulur was used to dry out the skin causing the blemish to peel and loosen impactations in clogged pores.
By the 1950's lotions included anti-bacterial ingredients along with sulfur. The main problem with sulphur was that it normally tended to lose efficacy with prolonged use.
It wasn't until the use of the first antibiotic, penicillin, in acne medications that more effective antibacterial treatments came into use. However, penicillin turned out to have very little effect on acne. Fortunately, other antibiotics were discovered (namely tertracycline) that did work. This medication, along with clindamycin and erythromycin became the preferred acne treatment for many years.
Benzoyl peroxide has been used for treating acne since the 1920's. It became available as both an over-the-counter treatment and through prescription (at higher strengths). Its long lasting popularity is credited to its antibacterial properties. Benzoyl peroxide also limited the secretion of certain oils that contained fatty acids known to contribute to acne flare-ups.
Vitamin A acid (Retin-A) was developed in the late 60's and became another important acne treatment when it came to the market in the early 1970s. Vitamin A helps reduce the formation of blackheads, whiteheads and other acne lesions. However, many patients have experienced significant swelling in the first few weeks of use, this causes some patients to stop using it.
This has been a problem with many acne treatments, they can cause extreme irritation and are inflammatory. It seems contradictory that the cure is similar to the problem - both were inflammatory.
Building on the discovery of vitamin A, the retinoic acid derivative isotretinoin was released in 1982. It has been proven effective for the treatment of an extreme form of acne known as cystic acne. It is normally taken over 20 weeks and for those affected by severe cases it has proven nothing short of a miracle. It does has a number of possible severe side effects such as: a sudden inability to see at night, intra-cranial pressure, inflammation of the liver and severe birth defects.
Oral contraceptives have also proven effective for women with acne. They work by normalizing hormonal changes that can cause acne.
Alpha hydroxy acids, such as glycolic acid are other acne treatments. They proved effective at increasing the shedding of skin cells, this helps to clear out blocked follicles. They are also popular for their anti-inflammatory properties.
In addition to these, acne patients have been subjected to some other unusual treatments over the years. Over 50 years German physicians X-rayed their acne patients. The treatment was considered extremely effective at drying up the oil glands, it was even used to remove facial hair. Fast forward to today and this therapy is known to have caused multiple skin cancers and cancer of the thyroid in these patients from the radiation.
Go to acne scar removal to find out about the latest on quick, safe and cheap acne treatments. Also, learn how to avoid spending a alot to remove acne scars.
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