Wednesday, May 8, 2013

New Teen Acne Guidelines Published In Pediatrics.

Just released by the American Academy of  Pediatrics is a consensus opinion on how teens can be best managed with their acne. These principals are endorsed by your providers at Hada Cosmetic Medicine. First you will get a consultation, by either your physician or Physician's Assistant, to make sure you are given a diagnosis. You may select to have some treatments by aestheticians, but it is important to periodically check in with your physician or advanced practice provider as they mange your acne. Available treatments include over-the-counter products; topical benzoyl peroxide (BP), retinoids, and antibiotics; and oral antibiotics, hormonal therapy, and isotretinoin. Other important considerations are how this affects you psychologically, how well you are able to comply with our treatments, and the role of diet, sleep and exercise in your acne. Sometimes it is important to also seek consultation with a dermatologist or endocrinologist.
  • It has been shown that Benxoyl Peroxide (BP) is safe and effective, and an excellent first line therapy. It can be continued with other medications regardless of what type of acne or how severe your acne is.
  • The next step may be antibiotics and they can be given as a topical treatment or as oral antibiotics,. It may be important to continue the BP, at this point to minimize development of antibiotic-resistant Propionibacterium acnes (the germ that actually causes most acne).
  • For all types and severity of acne, and for youths and adolescents, topical retinoids may be used alone or in combination products and regimens.
  • Because topical antibiotics are slower to work and fairly prone to antibiotic resistance, they recommend that topical BP should be added if topical antibiotics are needed for more than a few weeks.
  • If oral antibiotics are given, we will select one that is effective, and we will discuss how often, most will need to be taken with food, and we will go into any special instructions, such as sun sensitivity to think about if you are outdoors a lot.
  • Isotretinoin is recommended for severe, scarring, and/or refractory acne in adolescents and may be used in younger patients, but you must avoid pregnancy with this medication
  • Hormonal therapy with combined oral contraceptives may be useful  as the next step for young women, but they usually will not be started until you have your period for a full year.