Birth Control Pill for Acne
There are quite a few prescription medications used to combat acne, but one of the most
frequent choices for women is the use of a birth control pill for acne. This approach can be
used with teenagers as well as adult women, but if you're a guy, you are out of luck. Using
the birth control pill for acne on a man is a recipe for disaster. The female hormones would
wreak havoc on a man's system.
For women though, the birth control pill for acne can be
a minor miracle. And if your acne is severe enough to require use of the most dangerous acne
drug, birth control is an absolute necessity. You will not be able to take the risky drug
without also using the birth control pill for acne.
Why does using the birth control
pill for acne work?
Teen girls and women often experience outbreaks of acne just before
their menstrual periods. This is especially true with teens because their hormones are often
surging out of whack and haven't settled into a more even production yet. The birth control
pill for acne works by evening out those hormonal surges. When a woman's hormones are
regulated by using the birth control pill for acne, they often find the breakouts lessen in
both frequency and severity.
Is taking birth control pills for acne right for you?
The hormones estrogen, progestin and testosterone can be wildly unstable in the first few
years after a girl enters puberty. The fluctuating levels of these hormones can really
irritate the acne nearly all teens are prone to suffer. For girls experiencing moderate or
worse breakouts, and the embarrassment that comes with them, using birth control pills for
acne can be a miracle. Not only do their systems calm down, the breakouts become milder. Adult
women often appreciate the clearer skin that comes with the pill, even though they weren't
using birth control pills for acne in the first place.
If you are suffering severe acne
problems, your doctor may choose to put you on very effective medication called isotretinoin.
This drug, sold under the name Accutane, is very powerful, highly effective and absolutely not
to be used during pregnancy. This is where birth control pills for acne are most often
prescribed.
Accutane can cause such damage to a fetus that if a doctor prescribes it for
you, he is required by law to make sure you have two negative pregnancy tests no more than a
week before you start taking the drug. You have to be using birth control, so most doctors
prescribe birth control pills for acne as well, and you must have a negative pregnancy test
before each month's refill of Accutane.
These regulations have been in place for some
time, but because pregnancies while on isotretinoin are still happening, new federal
regulations have been added. If you take the drug, you are required to sign into a national
database so doctors, pharmacists and the government can track users of the drug and make sure
all the anti-pregnancy precautions are being taken, including birth control pills for acne and
a second form of birth control.
What are the side effects to taking birth control pills
for acne?
If your doctor prescribes birth control pills for acne and you take the
correct dosage, using the medication according to instructions, then the side effects are very
minimal.
The standard but generally low risks of birth control pills for acne or other
uses include weight gain, nausea, irregular or breakthrough (during the month) bleeding. In
very rare cases, this medication can cause problems with blood pressure, blood clots and
perhaps even heart attacks or strokes.
One important thing to know about taking birth
control pills for acne is that if your doctor also prescribes antibiotics, and you're using
the pill for pregnancy protection as well, you'll want to add a backup method of birth
control. The birth control pill for acne will still help manage your skin, but can fail to
protect you from pregnancy while you're also on antibiotics.
