Moderate acne is the second stage of the acne problem. That is, next to the mild acne. When your acne problem reaches this stage of severity, it overrules the merits of simple medications.
Precisely speaking your medication at this stage includes a single method or a combination of methods as decided by your dermatologist. You just can't take the liberty of self-treatment.
Your prescription medication could be oral or topical. The standard oral medicines to treat acne of this type include benzoyl peroxide, tretinoin, azelaic acid, adapalene and antibiotics. Wherein tretinoin is an altered form of vitamin A, the antibiotics help to tackle bacteria and reduce inflammation. The effect of vitamin A is to stop the growth of the comedones. It makes way for the other topical medicines like the antibiotics to enter the follicles. To decrease the formation of the comedones is the main objective behind all these medications.
If you are on the course of oral antibiotics you may face some side effects such as dizziness, lightheadness, upset stomach and alike. These antibiotics are supposed to curb the growth of bacteria and reduce the inflammation. The common antibiotics for treatment of acne are minocycline, doxycycline and tetracycline. Also, some of these medicines used for a long time, may lose their effectiveness!
The topical medications are available as creams, solutions, gels or lotions. Before determining a prescription for you, the dermatologist decides upon your skin type. Well, the skin may seem to be so thin a part- but it has its variant 'moods'.
For people with sensitive skin, creams and lotions are prescribed. They provide moisture and benefit this peculiar type of skin. For dry skin, gels and solutions, which are alcohol based, are prescribed. The dermatologist tells you about their application. He details you on how and how often you are expected to use them.
Prescription topical medicines may cause side effects to some people. Initially your skin condition may worsen before showing the signs of improvement. Side effects are in tune with the nature of the skin. The most common of them are stinging, redness, peeling, scaling, burning and even discoloration of the skin. Again there is medication for the side effects such as retinoids. After taking the medicines for some time, these side effects may disappear but if they persist, for a long time, you need to consult your dermatologist again.
