Our last blog post dealt with how to treat back acne. We discussed different types of back acne treatment including antibiotic pills, spironolactone and isotretinoin. In this post, let’s turn our attention to the use of antibiotic pills for back acne treatment.
Antibiotics for back acne treatment
Oral antibiotics can sometimes show good results and offer a less aggressive option for back acne treatment. Antibiotic pills can help improve back acne in different ways. First, antibiotics can kill the bacteria in acne-prone pores. This may reduce the tendency of the pores to become inflamed, forming pimples. The second way that antibiotics can help in back acne treatment is by reducing inflammation. Anti-inflammatory effects are an important part of how antibiotics control acne on the back leading to effective back acne treatment. Redness and inflammation are reduced which helps acne to heal.
The anti-inflammatory effects of antibiotics are separate from the antibacterial effects for back acne treatment. In fact, some antibiotics are used at very low doses at which they are too weak to kill bacteria yet still have the ability to calm inflammation. Some of the most common antibiotics for back acne treatment include tetracycline, doxycycline and minocycline. Others are also used for back acne treatment such as azithromycin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. It’s important to have patience while antibiotics begin to work for acne on the back. It can commonly take up to 6 or 8 weeks to see results.
Antibiotics for back acne treatment can have possible side effects
The antibiotics used for back acne treatment are fairly safe, however like any medication, they can sometimes have unwanted side effects. Although these side effects are generally rare or uncommon, patients should read about possible side effects and ask their acne doctor about them before beginning antibiotics for back acne treatment.
During back acne treatment with antibiotics, your acne doctor will also prescribe topical medications that contain benzoyl peroxide. This is done because benzoyl peroxide will help to prevent the bacteria in the acne-prone pores from becoming resistant to the antibiotics.
Rotational Therapy
At the Advanced Acne Institute, our back acne treatment patients are placed on a regimen called Rotational Therapy which incorporates benzoyl peroxide together with salicylic acid. The formulations of the Rotational Therapy treatments are non-irritating. When used for back acne treatment, they are applied and worked into the skin for one minute and then washed off. This helps to deliver the active ingredients without causing dryness, irritation or redness of the skin. Back acne treatment with Rotational Therapy also incorporates a Hydrating Base which is a skin conditioning lotion that soothes and calms irritated skin and helps to support the skin barrier. The hydrating effects also help to calm breakouts which helps to control back acne and lead to an effective back acne treatment.