Accutane - Gift or Curse? | Best Acne Answers

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Accutane - Gift or Curse?

Friday, March 13th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Accutane is one of the most controversial treatments available for acne. It is a very potent drug with a host of potentially very serious side effects. Is Accutane a gift or a curse?

If you search the Web at all, you see that there’s quite a bit of discussion on both sides of the issue. I’ll try to give a balanced summary here.

People who have never suffered from severe acne often tend to minimize the seriousness. To them, because it’s not life-threatening it isn’t serious.

However those of us with difficult to control acne realize just what a significant issue it is. The psychological and emotional suffering is real, as is the physical discomfort.

So while some may argue that a person shouldn’t take a drug with such serious side effects for a nonfatal disease like acting that really is a decision that only the person with the problem can decide for themselves. Only that person knows how the acne is affecting them and their life and so only they can accurately compare the risk versus the benefits.

Of course Accutane shouldn’t be the first treatment tried. It’d be much better if simpler and less risky treatments such as those discussed elsewhere on the site worked.

Accutane is indicated for severe nodular acne that does not respond to standard acne treatment. As you probably know, nodular acne is characterized by many painful inflamed nodules and cysts often filled with pus and very likely to cause pain and permanent scarring.

A course of treatment, which is usually five months, with Accutane is effective in helping 85% of people with this problem. Considering that no other treatment, including antibiotics, worked previously this truly can be a godsend.

What are the risks?

Common side effects include inflammation and drying of the skin and mucous membranes. Sometimes the acne actually seems to get worse before it gets better. Many people experience a dry mouth and often have feeling of the skin.

Other side effects include elevation of the triglyceride levels as well as elevation of cholesterol levels. The drug can also affect liver function.

Most people can live with the skin and mucous membranes changes, although it may be advisable to adjust the dose.

The effects on triglyceride levels and liver function can be mitigated by careful monitoring of blood tests throughout the treatment period.

A very, very serious concern about most important is the fact that Accutane can cause birth defects. No woman who is pregnant, has a chance of becoming pregnant or is nursing should ever take the drug. This can’t be overstated enough.

Even though the drug labeling is quite clear on this point and physicians virtually always emphasize it when they prescribed a drug, several babies are born each year with deformities because their mother took the drug at some point during the pregnancy.

In summary, Accutane is a potent drug with the potential for serious side effects. However it is also extremely effective at treating the worst and most recalcitrant cases of acne. For people suffering from this acne Accutane is indeed a blessing. With proper monitoring, it can usually be taken with a minimal risk of serious problem coming up.

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