Best Acne Treatment To Get Rid Of Acne And Acne Scar:Talking to Your Patients’ Families about Acne Treatment 
Acne affects more than a child’s outward appearance. It also may lead to anxiety and depression. Effective acne management addresses pathogenic factors of the disease, the treatment and prevention of physical symptoms, and the psychological impact of acne. Here’s what you need to know to optimize treatment outcomes for your patients.
The diversity of a common skin disorder
Approximately 45 million Americans have acne — most of them children and young adults. While acne is the most common of all skin disorders, the way it presents varies widely from one patient to another.
Acne generally is categorized as either comedonal (including whiteheads and blackheads) or inflammatory (including pustules, papules, nodules and cysts). It also can be classified by severity (mild, moderate or severe), which is based on the type and number of lesions.
Treatment approaches, too, vary widely among clinicians, including pediatricians, family practitioners and dermatologists. However, most physicians generally use combination therapy more often than monotherapy.
The varied presentation of acne and the diversity of treatment regimens underscore the need for an individualized treatment plan.
Best Acne Treatment To Get Rid Of Acne And Acne Scar:Talking to Your Patients’ Families about Acne Treatment
Treatment goals and approaches
According to a clinical review of acne treatment, published in a June 2008 supplement to Pediatric Dermatology, therapeutic approaches to managing acne may depend on multiple goals, among them — addressing as many pathogenic factors of acne as possible, achieving sustained efficacy with the least aggressive treatment possible, finding a treatment regimen that is well-tolerated and cost-effective, improving patient compliance, and minimizing side effects and bacterial resistance. Treatment approaches also should take into account a patient’s expectations of treatment.
Therapeutic approaches may include:
Topical treatments
— Topical retinoids have been suggested as firstline therapy for mild to moderate inflammatory acne and recommended as a preferred maintenance therapy. The topical antibiotic benzoyl peroxide (BPO) — considered by some to be a firstline treatment for mild acne — has antiinflammatory and comedolytic properties, and may help prevent antibiotic resistance.
Systemic treatments
— Oral antibiotics may be used to treat moderate to severe acne, but use should be limited because of the potential for antibiotic resistance. Second-generation tetracyclines offer improved efficacy and fewer gastrointestinal side effects, compared with oral erythromycin and first-generation tetracyclines. However, because tetracyclines may affect bone growth and stain teeth, they should not be used in children younger than 8. Oral contraceptives have demonstrated efficacy in treating acne in women, but this treatment approach may take several months before noticeable improvement is achieved. Also, their use should be considered in the context of known risks, including heart attack and stroke.
Combination therapy
— Using two or more topical treatments with different but complementary mechanisms of action may enhance treatment success by addressing several pathogenic factors of acne simultaneously. Combination therapy also may eliminate the need for oral medication. Topical combinations may include BPO and erythromycin, BPO and clindamycin, and clindamycin and tretinoin.
Best Acne Treatment To Get Rid Of Acne And Acne Scar:Talking to Your Patients’ Families about Acne Treatment
New treatment advances
In December 2008, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new gel called Epiduo™ for use in patients 12 years and older. The once-daily topical treatment combines retinoid adapalene with benzoyl peroxide. The results of a 517-patient Phase 2 study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, showed the gel reduced the median number of total acne lesions by more than 50 percent at the end of the 12-week study, compared with monotherapy with either adapalene (35.4 percent median reduction in total lesion count) or benzoyl peroxide (35.6 percent median reduction in total lesion count).
Acne affects more than a child’s outward appearance. It also may lead to anxiety and depression. Effective acne management addresses pathogenic factors of the disease, the treatment and prevention of physical symptoms, and the psychological impact of acne. Here’s what you need to know to optimize treatment outcomes for your patients.
The diversity of a common skin disorder
Approximately 45 million Americans have acne — most of them children and young adults. While acne is the most common of all skin disorders, the way it presents varies widely from one patient to another.
Acne generally is categorized as either comedonal (including whiteheads and blackheads) or inflammatory (including pustules, papules, nodules and cysts). It also can be classified by severity (mild, moderate or severe), which is based on the type and number of lesions.
Treatment approaches, too, vary widely among clinicians, including pediatricians, family practitioners and dermatologists. However, most physicians generally use combination therapy more often than monotherapy.
The varied presentation of acne and the diversity of treatment regimens underscore the need for an individualized treatment plan.
Best Acne Treatment To Get Rid Of Acne And Acne Scar:Talking to Your Patients’ Families about Acne Treatment
Treatment goals and approaches
According to a clinical review of acne treatment, published in a June 2008 supplement to Pediatric Dermatology, therapeutic approaches to managing acne may depend on multiple goals, among them — addressing as many pathogenic factors of acne as possible, achieving sustained efficacy with the least aggressive treatment possible, finding a treatment regimen that is well-tolerated and cost-effective, improving patient compliance, and minimizing side effects and bacterial resistance. Treatment approaches also should take into account a patient’s expectations of treatment.
Therapeutic approaches may include:
Topical treatments
— Topical retinoids have been suggested as firstline therapy for mild to moderate inflammatory acne and recommended as a preferred maintenance therapy. The topical antibiotic benzoyl peroxide (BPO) — considered by some to be a firstline treatment for mild acne — has antiinflammatory and comedolytic properties, and may help prevent antibiotic resistance.
Systemic treatments
— Oral antibiotics may be used to treat moderate to severe acne, but use should be limited because of the potential for antibiotic resistance. Second-generation tetracyclines offer improved efficacy and fewer gastrointestinal side effects, compared with oral erythromycin and first-generation tetracyclines. However, because tetracyclines may affect bone growth and stain teeth, they should not be used in children younger than 8. Oral contraceptives have demonstrated efficacy in treating acne in women, but this treatment approach may take several months before noticeable improvement is achieved. Also, their use should be considered in the context of known risks, including heart attack and stroke.
Combination therapy
— Using two or more topical treatments with different but complementary mechanisms of action may enhance treatment success by addressing several pathogenic factors of acne simultaneously. Combination therapy also may eliminate the need for oral medication. Topical combinations may include BPO and erythromycin, BPO and clindamycin, and clindamycin and tretinoin.
Best Acne Treatment To Get Rid Of Acne And Acne Scar:Talking to Your Patients’ Families about Acne Treatment
New treatment advances
In December 2008, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new gel called Epiduo™ for use in patients 12 years and older. The once-daily topical treatment combines retinoid adapalene with benzoyl peroxide. The results of a 517-patient Phase 2 study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, showed the gel reduced the median number of total acne lesions by more than 50 percent at the end of the 12-week study, compared with monotherapy with either adapalene (35.4 percent median reduction in total lesion count) or benzoyl peroxide (35.6 percent median reduction in total lesion count).
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