Isotretinoin is actually the generic term for Accutane. It is a synthetic Vitamin A derivative that creates a potentially long lasting change in the cells, lining the pore. This change allows cells to slough off naturally with clumping and plugging the pore.
Using Accutane, the pores will not become plugged and hence oil can flow freely to the skin surface. Also the amount of oil is reduced as Accutane temporarily re-regulates the oil gland to produce less. And the beauty of using Accutane is that, the benefit is long lasting and in some cases, the benefits are permanent.
Accutane is the most important drug today in the arsenal of medications that are used to treat severe and persistent nodular, cystic acne. It has provided great improvement to the acne problem for majority of the patient who use it since 1984. And about 60% of those who used Accutane actually needed only one- course of treatment and 30% needed two- course of treatment for clear skin.
Although Accutane is a powerful medication, it also has its side effect. It can cause your skin to be overly dry and chapped your lips. Hence when taking Accutane, you need to monitor your condition.
Accutane also has other side effects including nose bleeds and muscle and joint soreness. However the good news is that majority of the patients who use Accutane do not suffer from these side effects.
Accutane is known to cause birth defects in a developing fetus if a pregnant woman takes it. Therefore women who are sexually active must use appropriate birth control measure for one month before using Accutane. They must also continue with the control measure throughout the entire course and for at least three months after the therapy stops. However, accutane does not affect future pregnancies.
Serious side effects from Accutane are liver and pancreas damage, depression and brain swelling. Fortunately such cases are rare and can be reversed when one stopped using the medication.
If you have severe acne and do not respond well to other treatments, you may seriously want to consider taking Accutane for a five to six month period. The prescription is to be tailored according to your height and weight and should be taken with a meal because Accutane is absorbed better with food.
When taking Accutane, you must monitor the situation for any side effects as mentioned above. You are required to take mandatory blood tests including:
- living profile studies,
- complete blood count and
- cholesterol and triglyceride levels
The purpose of these tests is to ensure that there aren?t any abnormalities such as liver inflammation and a dangerously high triglyceride level which could inflame the pancreas, decrease the white blood count or seriously lower the red blood cell count. And for fertile women, a serum pregnancy test is to be done every month.
Alvin Poh shares more ideas and articles like this on the very popular website Ask About Acne at http://www.askaboutacne.com