Despite the benefits of acne treatments, like all surgery and medication, those used for acne can cause side effects and health risks.
For example, as in all surgical procedures, people who undergo skin dermabrasion can develop an infection or have an allergic reaction to the anesthetic.
Acne medicines too, present health risks.
Topical ointments, for instance, can dry out and irritate the skin, causing it to become red and scaly.
Retin A, in particular, makes the skin extremely sensitive to sunlight.
If it is left on the skin when an individual goes out in direct sunlight, he or she is likely to experience a severe sunburn.
Oral antibiotics can also present problems for some patients by causing nausea, dizziness, stomachaches, and sensitivity to the sun.
Furthermore, because oral antibiotics kill bacteria, they alter the level of normal bacteria present throughout the body.
In women, lack of normal bacteria can lead to the growth of yeast in the vagina.
This often causes the development of a yeast infection.
More troubling is the fact that long-term use of antibiotics can cause people to develop a resistance to these drugs.
This can be devastating if a person develops a serious bacterial infection, such as bacterial pneumonia or strep throat, that requires antibiotics to be cured.
Hormones, too, can cause side effects such as mood swings, depression, and weight gain.
An acne patient recalls: "I...
took antibiotics so long that I have become very resistant to many of them.
The doctors even tried birth control pills, the only real results from that was an extra twenty pounds!"27 Hormone therapy has also recently been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
For example, as in all surgical procedures, people who undergo skin dermabrasion can develop an infection or have an allergic reaction to the anesthetic.
Acne medicines too, present health risks.
Topical ointments, for instance, can dry out and irritate the skin, causing it to become red and scaly.
Retin A, in particular, makes the skin extremely sensitive to sunlight.
If it is left on the skin when an individual goes out in direct sunlight, he or she is likely to experience a severe sunburn.
Oral antibiotics can also present problems for some patients by causing nausea, dizziness, stomachaches, and sensitivity to the sun.
Furthermore, because oral antibiotics kill bacteria, they alter the level of normal bacteria present throughout the body.
In women, lack of normal bacteria can lead to the growth of yeast in the vagina.
This often causes the development of a yeast infection.
More troubling is the fact that long-term use of antibiotics can cause people to develop a resistance to these drugs.
This can be devastating if a person develops a serious bacterial infection, such as bacterial pneumonia or strep throat, that requires antibiotics to be cured.
Hormones, too, can cause side effects such as mood swings, depression, and weight gain.
An acne patient recalls: "I...
took antibiotics so long that I have become very resistant to many of them.
The doctors even tried birth control pills, the only real results from that was an extra twenty pounds!"27 Hormone therapy has also recently been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
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