Certain acne medicines can cause birth defects in the unborn babies if pregnant women take these medications. Women planning to get pregnant also should avoid taking such medicines. They have to first get cured their acne with these medications and leave a gap of about one month, after which they can plan a safe pregnancy. Pregnant women should therefore inform their doctor about their pregnancy if they are prescribed medications for treating severe types of acne. Even if the acne is of mild to moderate severity, pregnant women should strictly follow the directives of their doctor to avoid any risk of birth defects to their unborn babies. Until they come out of the influence of acne medicines, it is safe for non-pregnant women to adopt birth control measures.
Birth control pills also help women largely in tiding over the difficulties caused by acne. In some women, over production of hormones called androgens cause a type of acne which is resistive to treatment. When the production of androgens goes up it induces oil producing glands to secrete high levels of oil and this results in acne in those women. Your doctor may look into the clues that can help the diagnosis and conclude if hormones have triggered the acne. These clues include occurrence of acne for the first time, flare-ups of acne just before the menstrual cycle, irregular menstrual cycles, excessive hair growth or hair growing in unusual places and blood stream containing increased levels of certain androgens. Teen age girls and adult women having treatment-resistant acne, which do not respond to antibiotics and topical retinoids, may need hormonal therapy. If the doctors diagnose it as hormone influenced acne, they may prescribe varieties of therapies. They may also combine certain drugs to treat the acne successfully. One such combination involves birth control pills (oral contraceptives).
Estrogen and progestin are combined for oral administration if the acne is influenced by hormones. Estrogen taken in low doses can reduce production of androgens. Progestin agents of these days are less androgenic. The Food and Drugs Administration has approved only Ortho Tri-Cyclen and Estro-Step for the above type of acne, but some medical experts feel that any contraceptive given in low doses can improve acne conditions. Your gynecologist will be able to suggest you the type of formula that suits you. However, with this medication the side effects that may occur include hyper pigmentation and brownish blotches. Topical bleaching agents can treat these symptoms.
Anti-androgens are combined with oral contraceptives to reduce androgen produced by ovaries and adrenal glands. This medication also helps preventing androgens from triggering abundant oil production. The medicine known as Spironolactone, used for treating high blood pressure possesses anti-androgenic properties. This is found to be very effective in treating acne. Its side effects include headache, fatigue and breast tenderness. It can cause menstrual irregularities in women not taking oral contraceptives. This should not be taken without consulting your doctor. Corticosteroids administered in small doses can control inflammation and curb the androgens produced by adrenal glands. This should be combined with oral contraceptives to achieve good results.
Conclusively, you should consult your doctor if you have hormone influenced acne as you may require special treatments as cited above.