Topical Acne Treatments

Medical Acne Treatments
There are 2 main forms of acne medications that you can follow: topical treatment and oral treatment.

Goals of Acne Treatment

• You should understand how much acne and what type of acne you have.
• To stop new acne blemishes from developing with appropriate treatment.
• To treat acne scars and prevent new scars from forming.

Points to Remember

• You can control and cover the visible lesions and avoid embarrassment.
• Treatment is available that can prevent acne scarring.
• You should get help for your acne as soon as you notice it.
• Early treatment minimizes the severity of acne. This is important especially if one of your parents had severe acne.
• Acne treatment may last for months and often years.
• You should understand that improvement can be slow, and will often take months (not weeks) to work. There may even be an initial flare of your acne.

Topical Acne Treatments
The most commonly used topical acne treatments include:

A) Benzoyl Peroxide: can improve acne by killing the acne bacteria and by unblocking oil gland pores.

B) Retinoids: This acne medication is used to unblock the pores of oil glands, and is usually the first choice of treatment for whiteheads and blackheads.

Types of retinoids include:

• Tretinoin (Steiva-A®, Retin-A®, or Avita® cream/gel, and Vitamin A Acid®)
• Adapalene (Differin® 0.1% cream or gel solution)
• Tazortene (Tazorac® Gel 0.05%, 0.1%)
  

C) Topical Acne Antibiotics, including:

• Clindamycin
• Erythromycin
• Sulfacetamide

D) Azelaic acid: Has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties

E) Combination topical products, such as:

• Topical retinoid with erythromycin (Stievamycin® by Stiefel)
• Topical benzoyl peroxide with erythromycin (Benzamycin® by Dermik)
• Topical benzoyl peroxide with clindamycin (BenzaClin® by Dermik)

• Acne Guide .CA