10 Ways to Get Rid of Moderate to Severe Acne

Moderate to severe acne is understandably quite distressing to the teenagers and adults who suffer from this common skin condition. If you have moderate to severe acne and you understand how to get rid of acne using home remedies, home remedies may still not be as effective as you would like. Therefore, working with a skilled, competent, and sympathetic dermatologist who knows how to get rid of acne under challenging circumstances is most likely your best option for acne treatment.

Your dermatologist will know how to get rid of acne using a variety of medications, and he or she will work with you in order to determine which one is most effective. For example, one way your dermatologist may treat your acne is to prescribe one or more forms of antibiotics. Antibiotics come in either oral or topical form. Some common antibiotics include tetracyclene, erythromycin, clindamycin, or sulfacetamide.

In the event you have an averse reaction to antibiotics, or if you have been using antibiotics for an extended period of time and they have lost much of their effectiveness as a result, your practitioner will know how to get rid of acne using other types of medications. He or she may prescribe a topical retinoid medication such as tretinoin, adapalene, or tazarotene.

If you are a teenage girl or woman and your acne is moderate or flares up just prior to your period, he or she might decide to prescribe for you low-dose birth control pills containing estrogen. It is important to know that antibiotics can reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills, so if you are sexually active and your practitioner has prescribed antibiotics for you as well, you must use an alternative form of birth control.

If your acne is very severe, your dermatologist should be aware of other medications that might help you. Knowing how to get rid of acne that is extremely severe involves prescribing aggressive acne treatments such as Accutane. Accutane is an oral form vitamin A and works in a manner similar to retinoids. There are some side effects, however, and you must discuss them with your doctor.

Your dermatologist will also know how to get rid of acne using non-surgical treatments, especially if you have scars. One non-surgical method of treating acne and acne scars is a chemical peel. Chemical peel procedures involve your practitioner applying either alpha-hydroxy acids or trichloroacetic acids to your face. These procedures generally take 15 to 30 minutes, and you may require several treatments spread out over two or more months. Other non-surgical procedures include ultraviolet light therapy, which kills the bacteria responsible for triggering acne, and photodynamic therapy, a procedure in which your practitioner applies a photosensitizing agent called Levulan and activates it with wavelengths of light.

Finally, if your dermatologist knows how to get rid of acne and acne scars using surgical treatments, you may want to discuss these treatments with him or her if you feel these methods are a suitable option. Surgical treatments include dermabrasion, the mechanical sanding of the upper layers of skin, and microdermabrasion, a procedure in which tiny particles passing through a vacuum tube gently scrape away the top layer of skin. Another surgical treatment is laser skin resurfacing, a procedure that uses a laser to damage sebaceous glands, the glands that produce the oil that clogs your pores and forms plugs.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to serve as medical advice. For medical advice, please consult your doctor.