Birth control? For acne? Well, strangely it is not just something that was made up to encourage young girls to practice safe sex though birth control pills can also be used for older women as well. This controversial remedy for a bad case of acne is a last resort used by many doctors to help fight this embarrassing ailment.
These pills contain synthetic hormones that works particularly well in the puberty stages of a teenage girl because it helps stabilize irregular hormones found at this stage. These irregular hormones are partially responsible for the acne outbreak in the first place. For years doctors have known of their effectiveness and have prescribed it as treatments for their acne patients. Even the FDA has joined the party and started approving the use of some BC pills as another way to treat acne.
Though to be honest, doctors are still quite reluctant to use this oral contraceptive as treatments and usually prescribe other medication as well as other treatments first. Once these other methods should prove to be ineffective then doctors resort to birth control pills and more often than not these doctors suggest the use of oral contraception in conjunction with the conventional medication used for acne. It has been proven that this approach works best instead of using the birth control pills alone.
Synthetic hormones such as progestin and estrogen are found in birth control these pills. Ovulation in women is prevented because of these two hormones. Oral contraceptives also prevent the production of testosterone which in turn reduces skin oil production. Some birth control pills also prevent the production of androgen hormones which reduce acne. On the flip side some oral contraceptives cause more testosterone production and can actual cause the acne problem to escalate. This is why consulting a doctor for the right prescribed birth control pill is of supreme importance.
Daily doses of oral contraceptives are commonly prescribed by medical professionals and placebo pills are administered after a period of three weeks to normalize menstruation cycle. Using birth control for acne is a slow process and results will only be seen after three months.
Unfortunately there are unpleasant side effects such as nausea, irritability, tender breasts, spotting and the most common, weight gain. Sadly in some rare cases these side effects are of a more serious nature and manifest in the form of headaches, a stroke, gallstones, high blood pressure, blood clots as well as depression.
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