Cystic acne treatment is a type of severe acne treatment that affects the various lymph nodes all over your body. It is extremely important that this type of acne be treated by your dermatologist. A dermatologist is a physician who cares for all the different types of skin disorders. Since cystic acne is so inflammatory, it typically will not respond to the more more common treatments that are available.

Cystic acne treatment requires the use of isotretinoin (Accutane) which is a type of retinoid. It is an oral medication which is usually taken once or twice a day for a period of 16 to 20 weeks. This medication is used to prevent oil from being produced by reducting the size of the sudiferous, or oil, glands in the body. Since oil is a major cause of acne, this overall reduction in the production of oil should help prevent this severe form of acne. Isotreinoin also helps to reduce the amount of cell shedding and reduces the stickiness of the cells in the follicles, thus preventing the development of comedones.

Isotetinoin Advantages

Isotretinoin is a very effective medication for the treatment of cystic acne and is also effective in the prevention of extensive scarring in many patients. In approximately 90% of patients who used this medication for 16 to 20 weeks, the acne either completely or almost completely went away. With some patients an additionaly treatment of isotretinoin was required because the acne came back.

Disadvantages of Isotretinoin

Isotretinoin does have many disadvantages for any patient who starts treatment with it. A big disadvantage is that the drug is very expensive to use. Some of the severe side effects include inflammation of the lips and the mucous membranes of the eye. It has also been associated with dry mouth, nose and skin itching, nosebleeds, muscle aches, photosensitivity, and rarely, decreased night vision. Some of the more serious side effects are elevated blood cholesterol, abnormal liver enzyme readings, and high lipid and triglyceride levels. Your physician will need to monitor your complete blood count, blood chemistry, cholesterol, triglycerides, and liver enzymes prior to starting this treatment and several times during your cystic acne treatment. If any of these symptoms show up, the isotretinoin should be stopped immediately. These side effects will stop once the medication is no longer being taken. A doctor must be contacted immediately if a patient experiences any of these sides effects so that he or she can reduce them by lowering the dosage.

Another big disadvantage is a tetragenic defect can occur in the fetus if a pregnant woman uses isotretinoin. If a woman is of childbearing age and plans to become pregnant, isotretinoin should be avoided at all costs. In order for this therapy to work best, a women should be on birth control starting one month prior to taking the drug and continue it for one full month after the treatment is finished. A doctor needs to be consulted in order to determine what is a safe period to get pregnant once the treatment is over.