Should You Use Antibiotics to Treat Acne?

April 15th, 2010 | Acne Treatment Reviews

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Antibiotics are very commonly prescribed to acne sufferers. The basis for this is that infections are a key step in the development of acne. Antibiotics fight infections and are therefore believed to hinder the development of acne.

Now while this can be effective for some consumers, in most cases it is not enough. You may reduce the number and severity of infected pimples but blemishes can still develop, even if they do not get infected. Aside from that, over-usage of any antibiotics weakens the immune system. A healthy body is already naturally resistant to infections, as it produces its own antibiotics.

The consumption of pharmaceutical antibiotics provides a much higher dosage than the body produces itself and also reduces your body’s production of them. Your body will adjust to the regular input and will assume that it no longer needs to make its own. In addition, your body will build a tolerance to antibiotics in general, like it does with most drugs, so that if one day you are very ill, the prescription antibiotics may not have a strong enough effect on your body.

The other problem with using antibiotics to treat acne is that it is still targeting the symptoms. Certainly, it does it from the inside of the body, making it more effective than most creams, but the best thing you can do is work on building a stronger immune system. There are a few ways that you can do this:

• Diet – eating raw vegetables and some fruit improves pH balance in the body, consequently improving your immune system. You can still eat other foods, such as meats, carbohydrates, and even sweets, but you must keep a good ratio.
• Exercise – it is fairly common knowledge that fitness is closely related to health. It improves your breathing and lung capacity, allowing more oxygen to circulate through your body to help repair damaged cells.
• Vitamins – Various foods are a great source of vitamins but even vitamin supplements can do wonders. Vitamin A in particular is used to improve immune system and general skin health.

The best method, of course, is a combination of the above techniques. If you can improve your diet, fitness and vitamin intake (even if just through food selection), your immune system will certainly strengthen.

For these reasons, the use of antibiotics as a treatment for acne should be avoided whenever possible. If, however, you choose this option anyway then, as your doctor will probably suggest, you should only consume a minimal dosage and never use antibiotics for a prolonged period of time.