Accutane - a Magic Acne Cure or a Dangerous Drug?

If you are thinking of trying Accutane treatment for acne, you should know that it has serious side effects. It can only be used to cure severe acne and after other acne treatments have been tried and didn't help.

How Accutane works? Accutane is derived from vitamin A. It works by decreasing the amount of oil released by the oil glands; it also increases rejuvenating ability of your skin. Accutane can cure very severe cases of acne and for many teenagers it is the last hope. However, you should be very careful about its side effects, especially if you are a girl.

The scariest side effect is that if a girl becomes pregnant while taking Accutane or 1 month after the treatment, the risk of a birth defect is very high. Some teens are sexually active; some aren't. Some are responsible about birth control while others don't worry about it. If you have a daughter who is sexually active, you will have to explain to her that the risk is real and very serious, so she'll have to take birth control pills along with Accutane. Well, of course, for boys this is not a problem, but there are other side effects as well.

Accutane can cause dry and itchy skin, muscle and joint pain, irritated eyelids, decreased night vision, nosebleeds and headaches. It also can provoke depression and suicidal thoughts. Of cause "may cause" doesn't mean that you will suffer from all this. But you will have to watch out for some of the symptoms mentioned above.

Important thing to remember is that Accutane is derived from vitamin A. So you shouldn't take any supplements that contain vitamin A, while going through your treatment. Also stay away from the sun, because this drug makes your skin more sensitive to sunburn.

And one more thing, Accutane doesn't give a 100 percent effect. Many patients had success with Accutane. Otherwise dermatologists wouldn't prescribe it. However, while it is recorded to be very effective in curing acne, for some people it simply doesn't work. So, if you don't see significant improvement, you might have to accept the fact that this drug is not for you.

Before you decide to give Accutane a go, make sure that you explored other options. For example, while ordinary cleansers from a local supermarket aren't all that effective, Proactive acne medication gives very high rate of success. Also, don't underestimate the power of alternative acne treatments - some produce very good results.