Hormonal Acne Treatments for Women
October 1, 2008This kind of treatment is only for the women out there looking to treat acne. Sometimes our hormones get out-of-whack during our period. In addition to all the other strange things that we have to put up with during this time, acne can also be aggressive during your period.
To combat acne that always seems to get out of control during certain parts of your menstrual cycle, we need to direct our attention to our hormones. The male hormones that both men and women have promote activity of particular glands that produce oil, blocking up your skin.
Using Birth Control for Acne
Any easy solution is to use birth control, which will help regulate hormones, inhibiting their ability to make you break out. Contraceptives are used to regulate levels of estrogen and progesterone, which are often times used in combination with other treatments.
Contraceptives are perfect for women already looking to use birth control, and that would like to treat their acne at the same time. Birth control works by effecting your hormones, which will regulate your menstrual cycle, as well as slowing acne. Accutane is known to cause birth defects, and is commonly taken in combination with contraceptives to help acne treatment. This insures one doesn’t risk the chance of having a child with birth defects.
Choosing the Right Birth Control Pill
Most doctors prescribe a hybrid pill of contraceptive and androgenicity. The androgenicity will reduce androgen levels in women. The most popular brands of this type of contraceptive are Yasmin, Ortho Try-Cyclen, and Estrotep. Of the three, Yasmin has shown the most potential for successful treatment of acne. Birth control as a acne treatment takes some time to work, usually a few months.
Side Effects
Contraceptives directly effect your hormones, resulting in a wide range of potential side effects. Anything that happens to your system during a regular menstrual cycle is likely to be effected. The first side effect that many users notice is nausea, bloating, and other abdominal discomfort. After your body has gotten used to contraceptive use these problems will diminish.
A temporary irregular cycle and bleeding are to be expected with the use of birth control. These drugs are actively trying to get your cycle to change, which can result in strange things happening to your period.
Birth control can also effect you mentally with mood swings and an effected sex drive. Depression is a possible mood swing, so be careful. Your sex drive can be effected both positively and negatively.
Get a Mammogram First
Before starting use of birth control, it’s recommended that you get a mammogram, to check for any irregular lumps that may be caused by breast cancer. Tenderness of the breasts and lumps may develop during active use of contraceptives. It’s a good idea to determine if any lumps you may currently have may be caused by cancer, so you can distinguish them from ones caused by birth control. Any irregular growth should be checked out by a doctor immediately.
Other Hormone Treatments
In addition to birth control there are many other medications that work with your hormones to curb the effects of acne. The most common alternative treatment is through the use of anti-androgens. However, anti-androgens are typically taken with oral contraceptives, but not required.
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Tags: acne, acne treatment, birth control, birth control pill, birth defects, contraceptives, estrogen, menstrual cycle, progesterone
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