The Dangerous Accutane Dilemma in Treating Acne
Acne is a condition that affects a countless amount of people, both physiologically, and emotionally. Physically, people suffer from painful, inflamed, and sometimes scared skin that can and will affect them emotionally years after the acne has past.
There are just as many causes to this condition as there are treatment measures out there to help try to relieve acne. One treatment that has hit the market is a medication called Accutane.
Accutane is one medication that has the potential to treat acne and has been recognized for its many success stories. It has been known to be the only medication out there that has been able to clear acne completely with just one full course of treatment. Patients taking accutane for a full course, about five months, were found to only need a topical treatment afterwards.
Taking antibiotics, using creams, lotions, astringents, and pills are still very common methods to treating acne. Patients taking accutane are those who suffer from the severe forms of acne. It is these severe sufferers who also struggle with depression, low self-esteem, and embarrassment of how their face appears.
Accutane also carries psychological benefits for those who are prescribed the medicine. It has been known to enhance mood, thoughts of self, and heighten one’s confidence, but there are also negative side-effects of taking this drug.
While there are significant benefits to taking accutane, there is a dangerous accutane dilemma in treating acne. This drug has been known for its over-drying properties which cause excessively dry skin and mucous membranes, nose bleeds, and itchy, dry eyes. Other adverse effects to taking accutane include headaches, increased blood sugar levels, and fatigue. For some, the dangerous accutane dilemma in treating acne can be very severe. These side-effects include severe depression, cataracts, memory loss, hair loss, bone disease, hepatitis, and pancreatitis.
The most serious is birth defects. Pregnant women who take accutane run the risk of their children being born with mental retardation, cleft pallet, heart defects, and other severe learning disabilities. Women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant should never take this medication to treat their acne. It can also pass through breast milk in those women who decide to breast feed. Accutane has been linked to over 2,000 birth defects per year. Deformities have included missing limbs, missing ears, and the lack of internal organs.
Taking this medication really is something that needs careful consideration as you encounter more serious side-effects than you do the positive results of such a medication. If you are considering accutane as a method to treating your acne, be sure to speak to a physician, especially if you are planning a family or planning to breast feed. Learning about all the side-effects of this drug can truly spare you the pain of encountering serious effects that will change your life.
The dangerous accutane dilemma in treating acne is that it has the power to affect you in the long run. There is a documented thirty percent chance that your unborn child will suffer from the effects of this drug, and while there have been success stories, they just don’t seem to outweigh the significant dangers in taking such a drug.
