The Risks and
Side Effects of Prescription Acne Medications
With the wide variety of acne treatment products available through both
prescription and over the counter; it can be quite confusing to determine which
product is the most effective while providing the least amount of side effects.
Doxycycline is a product which is commonly used for the treatment of acne,
particularly in cases that have proven to be resistant to over the counter acne
treatments such as benzoyl peroxide.
A study conducted and published in 2003 by the University of Florida indicates
that doxycycline may well be an acne treatment that provides good results with
few side effects. During the 6 month study, patients were given either
doxycycline twice a day or a placebo. Patients in question suffered from
moderate facial acne. After six months, the study concluded that the patient
group who took doxycline showed significant improvement in both inflammatory and
non-inflammatory lesions. The study further reported that the doxycycline
treatment was ‘well tolerated.’
This 2003 study; however appears to be contradictory to an earlier reported
released in 2002 by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in which a
case was reported of doxycycline induced hypoglycemia induction in a nondiabetic
patient. That same year a report was issued by the University of Heidelberg in
Germany indicating that Sweet’s syndrome; a condition which is characterized by
fever, malaise and painful nodules located primarily on the head, neck, chest
and upper limbs was induced by a treatment of minocycline. The report went on to
state that there was a ‘strong possibility that the same patient developed a
drug-induced Sweet’s syndrome after oral administration of tetracycline and
doxycycline.”
While initial studies seem to confirm that positive results are provided by the
use of doxycycline for the use of acne treatment, further investigation reveals
that there may in fact be side effects that should be further considered before
use by consumers of this product. Further research may be necessary to determine
whether the benefits of this drug are worth the possible health risks.
Arch Dermatol. 2003 Apr;139(4):459-64. PubMed
Effects of subantimicrobial-dose doxycycline in the treatment of moderate acne.
Skidmore R, Kovach R, Walker C, Thomas J, Bradshaw M, Leyden J, Powala C, Ashley
R.
Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Florida,
Gainesville, 32608, USA.
South Med J. 2002 Nov;95(11):1353-4. PubMed
Doxycycline-induced hypoglycemia in a nondiabetic young man.
Basaria S, Braga M, Moore WT.
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Br J Dermatol. 2002 Sep;147(3):558-62. PubMed
Drug-induced Sweet's syndrome in acne caused by different tetracyclines: case
report and review of the literature.
Khan Durani B, Jappe U.
Department of Dermatology, University of Heidelberg, Vosstrasse 2, D-69115
Heidelberg, Germany.
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