Over The Counter Acne Treatments
Acne affects a multitude of people. You may see a 20 year old Caucasian boy or a 50 year old Hispanic woman who both suffer from acne. It varies from person to person on how long it lasts among other things. Teens are the ones most likely to suffer from acne. But it does not necessarily discriminate by age, race, gender, eating habits, etc. 85% of young adults currently suffer from acne while 25% suffer from permanent scarring. It is a problem that, as far as we can tell, will always exist somewhere in society. But here are a few reasons why you should consider other alternatives before making the dreaded trip to your doctor or dermatologist.
- You can get many of the same things over the counter
Take for example benzyl peroxide or retinol. You can get those in relatively high concentrations in a multitude of over the counter products. And many times, you will find that your skin isn’t necessarily equipped to handle the amounts you will find in those products. Prescription medications only use higher concentrations, which are often unnecessary. The major exception to this rule is Accutane, and it is controlled for a reason.
- Antibiotics don’t always work
Some dermatologists will tell you that they will clear up your acne and all with a completely safe and effective formula. This is not entirely true. Antibiotics can be used for a multitude of problems. But their effectiveness wears off over time, and they can very well interact with your body’s systems and other medications, causing digestive problems(ie killing all bacteria good and bad in your stomach, which is harder than you think to replenish), diminishing your body’s natural absorption of vital nutrients, and other problems. Acne is a temporary problem, one which in most cases goes away after adolescence or early adulthood and which will only flare up after that with serious hormonal changes such as pregnancy or menopause. There is no reason to suffer long term side effects in most cases.
- You will often be told to avoid things that have little application for most
A healthy diet can contribute to greater health and healthier skin in some cases. Likewise, keeping bangs off your face can keep sebum from getting onto your hair and then getting back onto your face in an endless cycle. But the sebum comes from the skin, not so often from the hair, and that is a common misconceptions that some dermatologists even follow. There are some foods that could cause greater acne breakouts, but they are not the sole reason for your breakouts, and for some avoiding them will not do anything.
- You will spend a lot more money!
Unfortunately, prescription medications are not guaranteed to work for every person just as over the counter treatments are not guaranteed to work for every person. The difference is you will be spending a substantial amount more money for a prescription than you would for an over the counter product, and prescriptions are generally guaranteed to have side effects. Copays for one doctor’s visit may cost you as much as a month’s supply of some over the counter treatments.
- Your options are limited
While the over the counter market for acne treatments is always developing, always expanding, always searching for new horizons, it seems the prescription market has become stagnant. They have done so much research and they have found a number of treatments which studies show to work for a number of people. So they have stopped developing, stopped searching, and chosen not to bother with ingredients that they could not sell as prescription products.