Time It Takes Accutane To Work

Accutane is possibly the most effective way to treat severe types of acne and specifically cystic acne vulgaris. While it is extremely effective, it has shown many adverse side effects on a minority of people that have undergone Accutane treatment. Accutane is an extremely potent form of vitamin A and while vitamin A is a necessary and a healthy nutrient that our body needs and produces on a small scale, in large doses it can be extremely dangerous, specifically causing birth defects in women that are pregnant.

Accutane is the trade name for the drug Isotretinoin, this drug is manufactured by Roche pharmaceutical company and has been prescribed to hundreds of thousands of people over the last 20+ years.

Accutane is extremely effective because it does a few things simultaneously that most other drugs or treatments can t do. They include:

1) Lowering the amount of oil (sebum) by reducing the number sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands are responsible for manufacturing sebum in our skin.

2) Accutane also decreases cell build up. Cell build up can lead to growth of material within the hair follicle cells that can produce white heads or blackheads.

3) Accutane also kills bacteria that grows and feeds off of sebum within the skin and on the skin s surface. Accutane specifically kills p. acne bacteria.

4) Accutane also can help reduce inflammation of the skin.

When you begin treatment of Accutane (Isotretinoin), you will usually notice that within the first two weeks your skin will become very dry. In addition, your eyes may experience dryness, your nose may bleed and your lips may chafe because of the dryness. Your normal skin s moisture will return once the treatment stops, but the sebaceous glands that Accutane targets will return much smaller in size. Sebaceous glands do not usually return to their normal size after Accutane treatment.

A normal treatment usually lasts for four to six months. While certain people experience a flare up of acne in their first month of treatment, usually your acne will dissipate in the following months. By the time your treatment has ended in either four or six months, the majority of symptoms associated with acne should no longer be visible. For individuals that Accutane does not initially work for, some doctors may prescribe a second treatment.

The long term effectiveness of Accutane (Isotretinoin) is extremely positive. 70% of individuals that go on an Accutane treatment will be acne free for more than 10 years. About 25% of the individuals that go on an Accutane treatment will see acne symptoms return after 2 years, and 10% of the individuals will see acne return after only one year.

Because of the intensity, adverse side effects and the dangerous consequences of becoming pregnant while on Accutane, most doctors only opt for Accutane for severe acne cases and only after many treatments have been experimented with. While there is no cure for acne, for the most stubborn cases and severe cases of acne, Accutane (Isotretinoin) is usually the most effective treatment available.