Acne vulgaris for Acne antibiotics

Acne vulgaris is the term often used by dermatologists to refer to the kind of acne that affects most people. "Vulgaris" comes from the latin word for "common." Thus, "acne vulgaris" means "common acne". This term differentiates acne vulgaris from other severe forms of acne, such as acne rosacea and acne conglobata.

Antibiotics are prescription drugs that work against acne by clearing the skin of bacteria. They can also reduce redness directly. Based on her diagnosis, your doctor might prescribe either topical or oral antibiotics.

As far as efficacy and potency are concerned, topical antibiotics have its limitation. For one, it cannot always penetrate deeper into the skin to clean deep-seated P. acnes. Oral antibiotics (such as minocycline, erythromycin and tetracycline), on the other hand, can circulate around the body and eventually work on the sebaceous glands. They are often prescribed for more severe acne cases. Since oral antibiotics work systematically, they, therefore, are more capable of producing side effects, than topical antibiotics. Some women, for instance, may develop yeast infection in the vaginal area. When this happens, it is advisable that you stop taking the antibiotics and have the infection treated first.

Oral antibiotics should not be taken by pregnant and nursing women. If you're taking birth control pills, you may want to know that systemic (oral) antibiotics can interfere with the efficacy of oral contraceptives. Your dermatologist may even advise you to stay out of the fun and use sunblock when taking antibiotics. The reason behind this is that some antibiotics cause the skin to become more sensitive to the sun's UVA and UVB rays. This applies to both fair-skinned and dark-skinned people.

Thus, when it comes to antibiotics, it is better to discuss the side effects they can cause before taking them.